Mary Leonard, the US ambassador to Nigeria, emphasized on Sunday that the country’s most recent presidential election fell short of what the people had hoped for.
The US ambassador wrote in an opinion piece that even while Nigerians showed their commitment to democracy on February 25, there were still a lot of upset and disappointed citizens.
She countered by saying that many Nigerians are also enjoying wins they feel have been gained after a long struggle.
Nonetheless, she emphasized that it will be crucial for Nigeria’s future that its citizens should not let their differences keep them apart and that the constitutionally established procedure for resolving election-related concerns be allowed to proceed.
The ambassador praised Mr. Bola Tinubu, who the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) had pronounced the winner of the election under Nigeria’s electoral system, for recognising Mr. Peter Obi and Mr. Atiku Abubakar’s resolve in their recent comments to pursue the legal road.
“Controversy and conflict surrounding elections have a long history in the United States. Even if it can be disappointing, election conflicts may properly come to a courtroom resolution in a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law. It is obvious that the February 25 electoral process as a whole fell short of Nigerians’ expectations. As I repeatedly stated previous to the elections, Nigeria has made significant progress in the more than two decades since the country’s restoration to democracy, and one of those advancements is the steadily rising standard of its elections.
“We understand that Nigerians want this encouraging trend to continue, including through the application of new technology designed to increase the transparency of the results reporting process,” Leonard said.
She then reaffirmed her plea for INEC to act quickly to address issues that may be remedied prior to the March 11 gubernatorial elections and to conduct a more thorough investigation into the issues that arose during the previous elections and what can be done to rectify them.
The US ambassador emphasized that INEC should always tell Nigerian citizens about the steps it is taking.
She also referred to a few of the’remarkable’ election results that demonstrate how Nigeria’s political climate ‘is undeniably changing.
According to Leonard, the victorious candidate in more than half of the states—20 in total—represented a different political party than the governor who was already in office.
According to her, the governors of 12 of these states are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and based on these preliminary results, the top three presidential contenders each won 12 states. This is the first time that all four presidential candidates won at least one state.
As seven incumbent governors failed to win election to the National Assembly, Leonard claimed that even if the results of the election are not yet final, the US already knows that changes are taking place.
She also mentioned that the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) had gained at least 11 seats in the House of Representatives while the Labour Party (LP) had at least seven seats in the Senate.
“We strongly support the ability of the Nigerian people to express their desire for responsive and inclusive governance.
The two biggest presidential democracies in the world—the United States and Nigeria—are also longtime allies. We support you as Nigeria navigates these upcoming weeks and months, the ambassador said.
