Geoffrey Onyeama has said that the neighboring country, Benin Republic is now ready to become the 37th state in Nigeria.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs said the president of Benin Republic, Patrice Talon expressed readiness for his country to become part of Nigeria when he visited the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari a few weeks back.

“The President of Benin said as far as they are concerned, they want (not just saying it like that) but in reality, Benin should be the 37th state of Nigeria,” he said.

“We should really be one. They charged us to come together at the ministerial level, to work out a framework for a sustainable relationship.”

He further added that, at the visit, both presidents discussed agreements between the two countries on how to put the issue of smuggling to an end, once and for all, as a follow up to the presidents’ meeting.