Nigeria MPs could reconvene over South Africa xenophobic attacks

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Nigerian lawmakers in the lower parliamentary chamber, the House of Representatives, could reconsider reconvening to deal with attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

Speaker of the house, Femi Gbajabiamila, wrote on Twitter that he was cutting short an official trip to Tanzania to confer with leadership on the matter.

He said the reconvening will be a one-day sitting to allow lawmakers to address the killings of Nigerians in South Africa.

Will be cutting short my trip to Tanzania for the 50th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference CPA_Secretariat and will be leaving today, for the leadership of the HouseNGR to consider cutting short the recess and reconvening for one day to address the killings of Nigerians in SA

— Femi Gbajabiamila (@femigbaja) September 3, 2019

Lawmakers are on their first recess since the swearing-in of a new session earlier this year. Before this development, a lawmaker from the southern Rivers State had called for the speaker to convene a special sitting over the xenophobic attacks.

“Let NASS (the National Assembly) convene for one or two days to discuss and resolve on the best way to protect our people, who are even denied access to our country (the Nigerian Embassy in SA).

“I call on the leadership of NASS to reconvene the Assembly immediately. Our citizens are killed and our nationhood threatened by South Africa,” Rep Kingsley Chinda was quoted to have said.

The other part of NASS is the Senate, its leader Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan has yet to publicly speak on the issue.

The federal government has meanwhile vowed to protect Nigerians in South Africa in a statement issued on Monday. Preceding the statement, Foreign Affairs chief Geoffery Onyeama had also tweeted Nigeria’s displeasure.