The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says on Saturday says contrary to some reports, Benin Republic is aspiring to be the 37 State of the Nigeria.
A statement by the ministry’s spokesperson Ferdinand Nwonye said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, was quoted out of context.
The statement said the minister in the presence of his counterpart from the Republic of Benin granted a press Interview after a very fruitful meeting between Ministerial delegations from both countries and stated therein “… the President of Benin Republic said he would like the relations between the two countries to be so close as if Benin was the 37th State of Nigeria.”
The ministry said “The Federal Republic of Nigeria has no territorial ambition and has never aspired to make Benin or any country as part of Nigeria.
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs was therefore quoted out of context and the general public should kindly disregard the wrong information,” the ministry.