Don’t embrace NIGERIAN election results in a hurry, US Senator warns US Govt

Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), a top ranking member of the United States of America, Senate, has cautioned his state government against rushing to embrace the outcome of the presidential election result in Nigerian.

Risch, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said: “The ongoing electoral process in Nigeria is widely viewed as deeply flawed by election observers and many Nigerians. It is disappointing to see the administration rush to embrace the result while the full picture of what occurred during this electoral process is yet to be seen.

He warned that the rush will undermine the United State’s position as an effective partner to all Nigerians, adding that their Government  should be more concerned with supporting the Nigerian people and their Democratic aspirations.

“I’ve expressed similar concerns related to other areas of our relationship with the Nigerian government. I worry this rush to judgement will undermine our ability to be an effective partner to all Nigerians, especially given their longstanding desire for democracy.

“With Nigeria heading into state-level elections in just a few days, it is important that the United States be more concerned with supporting the Nigerian people and their democratic aspirations than embracing the Nigerian government.”

The February 25 presidential election has been generating a lot of controversies. The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor, Yakubu Mahmood is been accused of blatantly ignoring the electoral act and even the guideline for the conduct of the election as signed by him.

The presidential candidates of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar and New Nigeria Peoples Party, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, have all rejected the outcome of the election.