We’ll frustrate Nigeria’s trade agreement with Morocco – group

Nigerian Movement for the Liberation of Western Sahara has vowed to frustrate Nigeria’s fish and fertilizer trade agreement with Morocco.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, NMLWS, accused Rabat of selling phosphate and seafood from the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic to Nigeria.

The group chaired by Ibrahim Gambari, Nigeria’s former foreign affairs minister, said it would picket companies in Nigeria that process fertilizer from phosphate supplied by Morocco.

“We put all those dealing in stolen Western Sahara natural resources including their fishes on notice that they cannot continue to do business as usual,” the group stated.

“After giving this notice to the Nigerian companies dealing in stolen Western Sahara resources, we will picket them across the country and bring them before our courts. This also includes supermarkets selling sardines and fishes from Morocco because  92 percent of these fishes are stolen from the Western Sahara coast.

The group accused President Muhammadu Buhari of supporting the self-declaration of independence by the Western Saharan state in 1984 and doing the opposite 35 years later.

“Nigeria in December 1984 then led by General Muhammadu Buhari, recognized the SADR as an independent African country. This was after the Saharawi had thrown off the colonial yoke of Spain.  It is, therefore, inconceivable that 35 years later, under an elected President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria would tolerate the occupation of the same country by a sister African country and be receiving the natural resources of Western Sahara plundered by Morocco,” it added.

The President Muhammadu Buhari administration had in December 2016, reached an agreement with the state-owned Moroccan firm OCP, to produce 1 million tons of locally manufactured fertilizer annually.

The memorandum of understanding signed with the company included the supply of raw materials for fertilizer production such as phosphate.

The group insisted that while it wanted Nigeria to develop its
fertiliser capacity, it will not permit the use of stolen resources.