Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has said President Patrice Talon has expressed readiness to cede the Benin Republic to Nigeria.
Onyeama stated this while speaking to reporters, after a closed-door meeting with Beninoise Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Aurélien Agbenonci.
He said the Beninoise president made the offer for the country to become Nigeria’s 37th state when he visited President Muhammadu Buhari a few weeks ago.
“The President of Benin says that as far as they are concerned, they want in reality for Benin to be the 37th state of Nigeria.
“We should really be one. They charged us to come together at the ministerial level, to work out a framework for a sustainable relationship.”
The Minister added that both presidents also discussed agreements between the two countries to put an end to the issue of smuggling.
