The Federal Government has finally reacted to the announcement made by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump to impose visa restrictions on election riggers in the country.
According to a statement issued by Mr. Ferdinand Nwonye, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, the Federal Government considers it disrespectful to the sovereignty of the country for any outside country to apply punitive measures such as visa restrictions on its citizens.
The statement reads as follows: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to state that the Nigerian government has taken note of the concerns of some of our partners, especially the U.S. and UK governments regarding the elections in Edo and Ondo States.
โThey have also expressed their intentions to take punitive measures against those who decide to, in what they termed as, undermine democracy. It is important to highlight that the responsibility for the conduct of elections in Nigeria solely resides with the Independent National Electoral Commission and State Independent Electoral Commissions.
“The Federal Government, and especially the President, is committed to providing all necessary logistic, financial and security support to the electoral process. The President has continually urged all parties and contestants to peacefully conduct themselves before, during and after the elections, and supported patriotic non-governmental initiatives such as the Abdusalami Abubakar-led Peace Committee.
โFurthermore, it should be noted that there are ample provisions in our laws to sanction violators and perpetrators of electoral violence and fraud. It would be considered disrespectful of the sovereignty of Nigeria for any outside authority to sit in judgment over the conduct of our citizens and apply punitive measures such as visa restriction, unilaterally.
โWhile we appreciate the support and encouragement of our international partners such as the EU, we urge our equally valued partners such as the UK and U.S. to cooperate with our relevant agencies.โ
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