Nigerian Government Reacts To Purported Sanction Of Russia Over Ukraine Invasion

Nigeria Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has debunked a claim making the round that Nigeria would sanction Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine, for over a week, has been under heavy military invasion by Russia, resulting in loss of lives and humanitarian crises for the Ukrainian government and other nations with citizens in Ukraine.

The Nigerian government is currently making moves to evacuate thousands of Nigerians who are currently displaced and taking refuge in Ukraine’s borders.

Meanwhile, there are numerous posts on social media attributing the claim to the Minister of Foreign Affairs that Nigeria would sanction Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

But the Minister in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media, Sarah Sanda said he was misrepresented in the various publications claiming that he said Nigeria was ready to sanction Russia for her action.

The statement reads: “The attention of the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama has been drawn to an online publication where he was reported to have said in an interview that Nigeria was ready to impose sanctions on Russia for Invading Ukraine.

“The Minister clearly said, We would act in the framework of the UN, and if there was a UN Resolution, we would be obliged, but there would not be, because Russia has a veto power”. Explaining the context of the Minister’s statement further, Sanda provided the transcript of the portion of the interview where the Minister was said to have been misrepresented.

“The Minister was asked: ‘Several countries have imposed sanctions on Russia. Is Nigeria making any practical move in that direction?’, He responded that: ‘This is going to be a collective action. The UN has to act, and we are going to act and engage within the framework of the United Nations. So if UN, for instance, adopts and imposes sanctions on Russia, we will comply with UN resolutions on any matter.’

“The Minister was further asked: How detrimental would that be to our investments concerned with Russia? He responded that: ‘Certainly, it will have an impact, I’m not sure that we have huge investments in Russia. It’s not a country in which we have huge investments. We have good relations with Russia, but as I said, Russians vetoed the Security Council. They are chairing the Security Council. So it’s gone to the General Assembly.’

“When he was asked if we can bear the anger of Moscow based on our relationship, if Nigeria goes the way of UN, he responded by saying: ‘You won’t have sanctions because Russia has the veto power in the Security Council, so you will not have a situation when the Security Council is going to accept to impose sanctions on Russia, because Russia has the veto power and is chairing the Security Council.”