On Monday, the UK and US ambassadors expressed their worry over the upcoming election at two separate forums.
Chris Pycroft, The UK Development Director, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and Will Stevens US Consul General spoke about the recent turmoil in INEC Offices.
In the last week, INEC offices have been burnt down in both Lagos and Ogun. INEC revealed that she had experienced 41 attacks in the space of three years.
This stands as a form of worry for spectators who advocate the fairness of democracy.
In the words of Pycroft ” The largest democracy in Africa occupies a critical place in efforts to consolidate democracy elsewhere across the world. Credible, useful elections will deepen citizens’ trust and reinforce the foundations for democratic consolidation in Nigeria.” He assured Nigeria of UK support for the smooth running of the electoral process.
He assured Nigeria of UK support for the smooth running of the electoral process.
The event also had in attendance INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, Northern Elders Forum’s spokesman, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh and other distinguished guests.
The Nothern elders spokesman employed the UK to indeed support Nigeria in her quest to uphold the sacredness of democracy. He also stated the uttermost importance of putting security measures in place for a free and fair election.
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The second forum open session of the election reporting workshop for journalists, organised by West Africa Broadcast & Media Academy in Ibadan.
Steven said that the Us government had invested $50mn for the training of journalists, Civil Society Organisations and technical assistance among others.
Admonishing journalists towards transparency and fairness he said this “When they vote, when they read your reporting, they feel like they’re part of the project of Nigeria, just like the project of the United States.
“So I’ll leave you with the words of one of my heroes, American investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett, who said, ‘’the smarter the journalists are, the better off society is.”
