“Be peaceful”, Biden urges Nigerians prior to the coming election

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden urged Nigerians to exercise patience and restraint as poll officials tabulated their ballots.

Prior to the polls on Saturday, February 25, Biden praised political parties and presidential candidates for signing the peace agreement in a statement from the US Embassy in Nigeria.

In order to exercise their right to vote and have their voices heard, Biden urged Citizens turn out on election day.

The statement quoted the US President as saying, “I commend yesterday’s peace accord in Nigeria, signed by the political parties and candidates running in Nigeria’s presidential election on February 25.

“By signing this pledge, the parties and candidates have committed to accept the results of the election, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, and to support a peaceful transition of power.

“Elections are a fundamental part of a functioning democracy, and all Nigerians deserve this chance to choose their future — freely and fairly.  While the United States does not support any single candidate or party, we strongly support a peaceful and transparent process that reflects the will of the people of Nigeria.

“On election day, I encourage all Nigerians — no matter their religion, region, or ethnicity —to exercise this fundamental freedom and make their voices heard — including young voters, many of whom may be heading to the ballot box for the first time.

“The United States stands with the Nigerian people as they chart a path toward a more democratic, prosperous, and secure future.  I appreciate President Buhari’s firm commitment that the will of the people will be respected.

“And in the coming days, I encourage voters to remain peaceful and patient as their ballots are tallied, and urge the political parties and candidates to live up to their pledge.”

The United States gave $25 million to Nigeria on Thursday to help it hold free, honest elections.

This was revealed by Mary Leonard, the US ambassador to Nigeria, during a roundtable discussion with journalists in Abuja.

Leonard praised Nigeria for maintaining a stable and peaceful democracy and mentioned that the US had cooperated with the Independent National Electoral Commission in preparation for the upcoming vote.

She added “So, we have long been involved in democracy and governance through programmes in Nigeria and probably we are spending about 25 million dollars with particular reference to this election.

“We are doing many things. First of all, we are sponsoring and independent observation mission with some very high-powered delegation, US veterans, they are independent of us but we have played a role in facilitating.

“We have worked with INEC itself, on sort of the technical aspects, for example, we trained some 1,800 technical workers on how to trouble shoot the BVAS and those people in their turns have trained hundreds of thousands of other people.

“So that come election day, if there is any trouble with the technology, people will be around to know how to fix it.

“I think we have had a well-rounded interaction regarding this election and again we are really looking forward to see the peaceful elections.”

She added that every Nigerian has the responsibility of ensuring a peaceful process, also urging leaders to take their commitments seriously.