Atiku Bagudu will be the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning. The Federal Government has vehemently disputed reports that it inked a contentious deal with Samoa to get $150 billion from the EU in return for backing LGBT rights, according to news outlet The Sun Nigeria. The European Union (EU) and countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific have reached an agreement that stipulates poor states must endorse LGBT rights in order to be eligible for financial assistance.
At a news conference in Abuja, Nigeria's Ministers of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, and Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, denied the allegations, saying the arrangement was legal and in accordance with Nigerian law. Bagudu stressed that the federal government will not sign an agreement that violates the Nigerian constitution or any law of the country.
"The LGBT agreement does not violate any provision of Nigerian law in any way." Education, cultural preservation, food security, sustainable development, human rights, peace, safety, and the rule of law are among the shared objectives that Bagudu outlined in the pact. The speaker emphasised that the sum of $150 billion, or any amount at all, would not be mentioned anywhere. The media's distortion of the facts was also denounced by Minister Idris. There has been continuous openness between the federal government and the media under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he said. That certain groups are taking advantage of the government-guaranteed freedoms, nevertheless, is discouraging.
"We are alarmed by the level of reckless reporting and statements by some media organisations and individuals that border on national security and stability," he said, expressing his worry over careless reporting that endangers national security. Idris brought attention to several cases of media disinformation, such as the rebranding of the Murtala Mohammed motorway and the fabrication of stories regarding Nigeria's participation in a conflict in the Niger Republic. "The newspaper relied on unfounded claims and rumours in each of those cases,"