I’ll
Support Lesbian, Gay Rights If Elected President – Ezekwesili
The
presidential candidate of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Dr Oby
Ezekwesili, has promised to support the rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual
and Transgender (LGBT) community if voted as Nigeria’s president in 2019.
Ekewesili
made this known while delivering a speech on Monday at the Royal Institute of
International Affairs, otherwise known as Chatham House, in the United Kingdom.
The
APCN candidate, who is a former Vice-President of the World Bank Africa
division, made the revelation while fielding a question by a Nigerian gay right
activist, Bisi Alimi.
Alimi
had suggested that Ezekwesili will discriminate against the LGBT community
because of her Christian faith, but the presidential aspirant said she will
ensure everyone is treated equally.
“Bisi
spoke about the LGBT, I absolutely believe in the fact that everyone is
entitled to equal opportunity. So at the realm of public policy, it wouldn’t
matter to me what your belief is, what you chose to believe it,” Ezekwesili
said.
“It
is basically the fact that equality of opportunity will define my time in
government, I believe that equality of opportunity offers everyone the right to
live.
“It
offers everyone, the right to aspire, that will definitely be the way that I
run the government that I shall lead.
“On
your specific mention of Tanzania, when I was the vice-president at the World
Bank, one specific measure that we took was to make sure that governments
understand the concept of equality to a human life.
“So,
I don’t know where you got the particular impression that I didn’t do anything.
I reached out to the Tanzanian government on that matter, on the premise that
equality of opportunity is an entitlement to every member of society,”
Ezekwesili added.
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