Nigeria’s National Assembly has suspended all official visits to South Africa and ordered a boycott of legislative activities hosted or organised by the country until further notice, over renewed reports of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other African nationals.
The decision was contained in a statement signed by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, Esq., on behalf of the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives.
The National Assembly leadership said it was deeply concerned by the continued violence, intimidation, destruction of property and other forms of hostility directed at Nigerians and other African nationals living in South Africa.
It said the decision was taken in response to the failure of repeated appeals by the Nigerian government and other stakeholders for South African authorities to take decisive action to protect Nigerians and other foreign nationals and bring perpetrators of xenophobic attacks to justice.
Under the resolution, all official visits to South Africa by lawmakers, National Assembly committees, officials and staff have been suspended.
The boycott also covers conferences, seminars, workshops, parliamentary meetings, legislative exchanges and other activities organised or hosted by South African legislative authorities.
The National Assembly further directed that its officials and lawmakers should not participate in South African-hosted legislative programmes either physically or through virtual or online platforms.
The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, has consequently been directed to communicate the decision to senators, members of the House of Representatives, committees, departments, directorates, officials and staff for strict compliance.
However, the National Assembly stressed that the decision was not intended to undermine the longstanding diplomatic, historical and people-to-people relations between Nigeria and South Africa.
Rather, it described the move as a strong expression of concern over the safety, dignity and welfare of Nigerians living and conducting legitimate businesses in South Africa.
The lawmakers called on the South African government to urgently protect Nigerians and other African nationals, prevent further xenophobic attacks, thoroughly investigate reported incidents, arrest suspected perpetrators and prosecute those found culpable.
The National Assembly also urged State Houses of Assembly to take note of the decision and consider adopting similar measures.
It said the suspension and boycott would remain in force until further notice and would be subject to review as circumstances warrant.(Spark news daily)
