The United States government, on Friday, January 20, 2023, said it neither had a preferred candidate nor a political party for the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, noting that it was only interested in free, fair, and credible polls that represents the people.
It expressed delight at the Electoral Act which he said, has good measures to strengthen voting security, warning that it would refuse visas for anyone found culpable in encouraging electoral violence or undermining the process.
Will Stevens, the US Consular General (Nigeria), stated this in Asaba, Delta State, in the first in a series of OpenGov Town Hall meeting in the Niger Delta region organised by the auspices of the Niger-Delta Open Observatory, NOGO, cluster supported by the USAID Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement, SCALE, project implemented by Palladium.
Stevens said: “The US do not have a preferred candidate, full stop! We are not interested in a particular party or candidate. What we are interested in is a free, fair, and credible election that represents the people.
“These elections are important. Nigeria is the fifth largest democracy in the world so when the people of Nigeria come to vote, you are showing the strength of democracy to the rest of the world.”
He said the US had been working with the Nigeria government as partners to support the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, and civil society organizations to enable them hold candidates accountable.
Stevens also disclosed that the US has provided nearly 50 million dollars in technical assistance to the electoral umpire to strengthen the mechanisms that will allow Nigerians feel comfortable that their votes will count.
“We in the United States will discourage any politicians, citizens, other parties who are encouraging electoral violence or seeking to undermine the electoral process.
“One thing we have done in the past and continue to do is that those who seek to undermine the democratic process can and will be found ineligible for visa to the US,” he said.
Stevens said his mission to Delta state and the South-East was for pre election monitoring with a view to looking and seeing how things are developing. He added that the consulate is doing all within its powers to understand what is happening and articulate such to US citizens.
Highpoint of the event was the signing of a commitment by some gubernatorial candidates in the Delta governorship race to a social contract with Deltans.
Gubernatorial candidate of the PDP candididate, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, represented by Director General, Delta PDP Campaign Council, Mr. Funkekeme Solomon, gubernatorial candidate of the APC, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, represented by Dr Austin Izagbo, and Mr Sunny Ofehe of Young People’s Party, YPP were among governorship candidates that signed the manifesto.
Others are Mr Kennedy Pela and Dr Goodnews Agbi, candidates of the Labour Party, LP and New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, respectively.
Activist Calls For Visa Ban On Aisha Buhari Over Abduction, Torture Of Student
Deji Adeyanju, the convener of Concerned Nigerians, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, Aisha, of eating fat on Nigeria’s money.
To this end, Adeyanju urged the international community to ban Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari from speaking at human rights programmes.
Adeyanju was reacting on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, to the unlawful torture of a student by security agencies at the instance of Mrs Buhari.
Recently, the media has been awash with the arrest, detention, and ‘supervised’ torture by Mrs Buhari of a student of Federal University, Dutse, Aminu Adamu Muhammed, on 8th November, 2022, over a scathing Twitter comment he made about the wife of the President.
Muhammed had tweeted in Hausa saying “Su mama anchi kudin talkawa ankoshi”, meaning “Mama has eaten poor people’s money and is now full”, followed by an attached picture of the First Lady.
As a result, the student was handpicked by security agencies and allegedly taken to Aso Rock only to be treated in a debasing and inhumane manner through torture.
Reacting, Adeyanju condemned the unlawful arrest and torture of the student by security agencies at the instance of Mrs Buhari.
He described the conduct as debasing and unconstitutional.
A statement by Adeyanju reads partly: “Aisha Buhari is feeding fat on our money. However, while it is acknowledged that Mohammed’s post only speaks to facts because of available statistics. According to reports; the estimated yearly budget for food & travels for Aso Rock from 2016 till date is: 2016 – N3.27 billion; 2017 – N3.11 billion; 2018 – N3.81 billion; 2019 – N3.39 billion; 2020 – N7.46 billion; 2021 – N6.07 billion; 2022 – N6.77 billion. From these gulping budgeted sums, one can only safely posit that Mohammed’s assertion is the complete truth as the First Lady has been feeding fat on taxpayers’ money used in offsetting budget expenses for Aso Rock.
“Thus, the conduct of the First Lady and the detailed security agencies is bereft of sound judgment, oppressive, and unconstitutional. First off, for such arrest and torture of the student to have been triggered through the First Lady is demeaning to the office of the President and does not portray the entire country in a good light to the entire world, in terms of respect for citizens fundamental freedoms protected under the country’s Constitution. In the world over, it has been accepted that torture constitutes a serious matter of concern that threatens the life and dignity of human persons.
“Accordingly, the international community is called to ban Mrs Aisha Buhari from either attending or speaking at Human Rights events in demonstration of their condemnation against the First Lady’s conduct. In this regard, all the Security officials involved in this dastardly act should also be made to face the full wrath of the Law.”
Source: Vanguard
