John Kerry, the
United States secretary of state, will lead the US presidential delegation
to the inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s president on May 29, the
US mission in Nigeria has said.
“President Barack Obama today
announced the designation of a presidential delegation to Nigeria to attend the
inauguration of His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, president-elect of the federal
republic of Nigeria, on May 29, 2015,” the mission said in a statement.
TheCable report continues:
“The Honorable John Kerry, U.S.
Secretary of State, will lead the delegation. Other members of the delegation
will be announced at a future date.”
In January when Kerry paid his first
visit to Nigeria, he met with President Goodluck Jonathan and Buhari in Lagos
ahead of the presidential election.
The purpose of his visit at the
time, according to the US mission in Nigeria was, to canvass for peaceful, fair
and credible elections. On different occasions, Kerry had expressed his
country’s commitment to working with Nigeria.
A statement issued by the US
Department of States after the presidential election in April quoted him as
saying: “The United States commends Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) and its chairman, Attahiru Jega, on the generally orderly
vote, on the use of technology such as card readers to increase the credibility
and transparency of the electoral process, and on prompt communication of the
results.
“While we note reports of logistical
problems, such incidents did not undermine the overall outcome of the election.
“At that time (during his visit in
January), I emphasized that for the United States, Nigeria is an increasingly
important strategic partner and that Nigeria has a critical role to play in the
security and prosperity of this continent and beyond.
“I also said that it was imperative
that these elections are an improvement over past elections and that they need
to set a new standard for this democracy. That means that Nigerians needed to not
only reject violence but actually promote peace…
“We extend our congratulations to
President-elect Buhari. The United States reiterates its commitment to working
with the newly elected government that emerges from this democratic process.”
No comments:
Post a Comment