July 29, 2013
Nigeria Denies Will Allow Gay Married Diplomats
Steve Weinstein READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is denying reports the minister said he would allow gay married diplomats to be accredited.
A statement Monday says Minister Olugbenga Ashiru has at every opportunity reiterated that foreign countries should not impose their values on Nigerians.
It says the vast majority of Nigerians "are against gay marriages and gay rights, as they are not part of our customs, religions or laws."
The official News Agency of Nigeria last week quoted Ashiru as saying that if diplomats with same-sex spouses were posted to Nigeria there would be no choice but to accredit them because they come from countries that have laws allowing same-sex marriage. It said he spoke to the agency in an interview in London.
Nigerian legislators have passed a bill criminalizing same-sex marriages.
Steve Weinstein has been a regular correspondent for the International Herald Tribune, the Advocate, the Village Voice and Out. He has been covering the AIDS crisis since the early '80s, when he began his career. He is the author of "The Q Guide to Fire Island" (Alyson, 2007).
