The Mayor of Girne, Cyprus, Engineer NiDai Gungordu, has pleddge that the citizens of the country will continue to accommodate foreigners without discrimination.
He spoke in Girne, when leaders of African Nations in North Cyprus (ANNC) led by the founder, Oya Baspinarli, a Cypriot, paid him a courtesy visit.
A statement issued in Cyprus over the weekend by the President General of ANNC, Prince Isaac Ifetoluwa Ajayi, quoted the Mayor as saying the municipality will not judge Nigerians or other Africans based on the mistake of one person.
“We attach importance to every human without discriminating between genders or religions. It is our responsibility to serve you like our citizens, without discriminating but we expect you to respect the local culture and tradition by adapting easily to our local culture while living in Kyrenia.
“Be cooperative and friendly with the natives. After 1974, we lost our tradition because Cyprus became a multicultural society as foreigners started visiting,” he said.
Gungordu suggested that ANNC should commence volunteering projects like tree planting, seaside cleaning with the collaboration of Girne Belediyesi and assured that the municipality could allocate land to Nigerians in case they desire to farm in Cyprus.
The Mayor disclosed the exercise would go a long way to changing the mindset of the locals concerning Nigerians.
Earlier, Mrs Oya Baspinarli had assured the Mayor that no effort would be spared to create a healthy communication between Africans living in Kyrenia and the Cypriots to get rid of negative mindsets within the municipality.
In his remarks, the President General of ANNC, Prince Isaac Ifetoluwa Ajayi, thanked Mayor Gungordu profusely for being a blessing to Nigerians and the entire African nations living in northern Cyprus.
