The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has commended the United States over its fresh imposition of a visa ban on election riggers in Nigeria.
Recall that US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, in a statement on Monday, said the US has imposed visa restrictions on some individuals for undermining the electoral process during the Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections.
He added actions have also been taken against some persons in the run-up to the September and October 2020 governorship elections in Edo and Ondo.
Reacting to the fresh visa restriction, the PDP, in a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, hailed the action of the US government.
The party also asked the United States Department of State to include family members and assets of such anti-democratic agents who have been involved in election rigging. The PDP noted that this will serve as a stronger deterrent to protect innocent Nigerians who are left to bear the brunt of the misdeed of such unpatriotic persons.
The PDP urged the United States to also invite the European Union as well as other nations, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, to impose similar sanctions on electoral violators, who are bent on destroying the country’s democracy.
It said This Visa ban if taken across the globe, would be a final warning to corrupt politicians, as well as compromised security and INEC officials, being used to perpetrate electoral violence and manipulations.
Part of the statement reads: “Our party asserts that the position of the US Department of State is a confirmation that 2019 general elections, the November 2019 Kogi governorship election, as well as other elections under the
President Muhammadu Buhari regime were massively rigged with unrestrained violence against the people and rampant manipulations by the APC and their compromised security agents.
“The world is aware of how our compatriots were killed and maimed in Kano and various parts of our nation in the 2019 elections; how collation of results were compromised by relations of APC candidates and how compromised security operatives were used to frustrate the will of the people.
“Without saying, Nigerians know the individuals who unleashed violence to rig the November 2019 Kogi state governorship election; who deployed thugs and security agents to shoot and kill voters, cart away ballot boxes, used police helicopter to fire tear gas on Nigerians, burnt an innocent woman, Mrs Salome Abuh, alive, altered election result figures to make themselves winners.”
… with the determination to unbridle the instrument of resistance to anybody, anybody at all, who attempts to undermine their will at any level of the process.
— Official PDP Nigeria (@OfficialPDPNig) September 15, 2020
