Dogara meets Pope Francis in Rome

-Speaker Yakubu Dogara meets Pope Francis in Italy.

-The speaker discussed the need for both countries to work together against human trafficking.

Pope Francis hosts Speaker Dogara in Rome, Italy.

Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, was received in Italy by the head of the the Catholic church world over, Pope Francis.

The Speaker was hosted by the Pope at Saint Peters Square, Vatican, Rome.

He shared the information on his twitter account.

“Today, I had the great honour of meeting His Holiness, Pope Francis. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he is well informed about happenings in Nigeria and prays for peace in the country.”

Today, I had the great honour of meeting His Holiness, Pope Francis @Pontifex. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he is well informed about happenings in Nigeria and prays for peace in the country. @CatholicNewsSvc @cnalive pic.twitter.com/eoKjbbMSWI

— Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara (@YakubDogara) November 23, 2017

Speaking earlier at an international conference on “Women Empowerment and the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons: Partnership Between Nigeria and Italy” on Tuesday, November 21, Yakubu Dogara, charged the international community on the need for collaborative efforts targeted at combating the scourge of human trafficking.

He said “The Mediterranean has today become the world’s biggest cemetery leaving deep wounds on humanity’s conscience that will over a period of time produce historical scars to serve as a testimony to the ineptitude of our generation in dealing with this problem.

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“We are all involved in this crime either as perpetrators or those who are aiding and abetting human traffickers by standing aloof while they convince victims to embark on a supposed journey in search of a “better life” that has almost always ended in “bitter life” if not death.

“The partnership between our two friendly Nations must develop the needed tools to address the hopelessness that serve as motivation for the victims to want to risk to be trafficked and the greed of the traffickers.”

Dogara spoke against the backdrop of 26 migrants who died in the Mediterranean sea while trying to cross over into Italy.

The hasty burial of the illegal migrants led to a minor diplomatic dispute between Nigeria and Italy, with Abike Dabiri-Erewa, special assistant to President Buhari on foreign affairs and diaspora, stating that Italian authorities have issued an apology to Nigeria for the way it handled the case.