The Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested and condemned Jan. 12 Nigeria’s announcement the previous day that it would no longer recognize Taiwan as a country and cease diplomatic relations, calling the move a politically motivated scheme intended to confuse the international community.
Nigeria’s foreign minister said in a joint news conference with his mainland Chinese counterpart in the West African nation’s capital, Abuja, that his government will sever ties with Taiwan in accordance with the “one China” principle. The Nigerian government also called for Taiwan to move its trade office from Abuja to the country’s largest city Lagos.
Noting that the two sides have never established formal diplomatic relations, the MOFA accused the West African nation of seeking to mislead the international community.
“The ministry strongly protests and condemns the Nigerian government’s cooperation with mainland China in carrying out a politically motivated, unreasonable, uncivil and ruthless scheme,” it said.
Taiwan and Nigeria inked a memorandum of understanding on establishing trade missions in each other’s countries in November 1990. The Trade Mission of the ROC (Taiwan) was set up in the then-Nigerian capital of Lagos in 1991, while Nigeria opened its trade mission in Taipei City the following year.
After reaching a consensus with the Nigerian government, the Trade Mission of the ROC (Taiwan) was moved to the West African country’s new capital, Abuja, in August 2001. Since that time, mainland China has pressured Nigeria to relocate the office back to Lagos.
The MOFA called on Nigeria, whose trade mission in Taipei is still operating, to leave room for negotiations on the matter in line with the 1990 agreement and the principles of equality and mutual benefits. It will soon send a delegation to Nigeria to deal with this issue, the ministry added. (OC-E)
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