The visiting United States Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Linda Thomas-Greenfield has called on the National Assembly to put necessary machinery in motion for the establishment of Electoral Offences Tribunal, saying it will help enthroning transparency.
This is reechoing the position of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that has renewed call for this of late.
To ensure emergence of true leaders, Thomas-Greenfield, who is in Abuja for the meeting of Nigeria-US Bi-National Commission, also counseled eligible voters to desist from selling their votes so as not to mortgage their future.
According to her, “Nigeria’s future is full of promise and opportunity and cannot afford to have elections or general governance slide back in terms of peacefulness, fairness, transparency, or credibility.
“No matter how high the political stakes, we are dedicated to the proposition that the 2015 elections will be more transparent, more credible, and less violent than in 2011.
“We stand with Nigerians who say loudly that they will not accept crooked tactics, electoral tampering, overly heated rhetoric, vote selling or buying, or violence.
“I have heard my Nigerian friends say repeatedly that anyone who engages in such election chicanery should be held accountable. They are right.
“I encourage Nigeria’s National Assembly to pass legislation enacting an Electoral Offences Tribunal—legislation that President Jonathan himself proposed when he was Vice President.
“We hope that our continued electoral assistance will give the utmost support to the Nigerian people because they deserve nothing less than elections that reflect their will.”
Thomas-Greenfield, also applauded the role of security agencies during the last Anambra election, saying, “We have confidence that if the Nigerian police, military, and other security services are allowed to do their jobs as professionally as they did in Anambra, the elections can be held safely in Ekiti and Osun States and, in 2015, at every polling unit in Nigeria, including in the Delta, the Middle Belt, and the states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.
“Credible elections are the responsibility of every citizen, every voter. Your right to vote is yours to watch over.
“The choice is yours to decide not to sell your vote, not to intimidate others, and not to engage in violence around elections.
“Selling your vote will put money in your pocket for only a day, but ultimately, you are selling your future and your children’s future right to freedom and prosperity.
“You must hold your politicians, your electoral commission, your judiciary, your media, your political parties, your security services, and each other accountable. You must vote according to your conscience.
“Anyone who witnesses fraud must peacefully report it to the INEC and the Nigerian judicial system for resolution. Nothing justifies violence. Most importantly, Nigerians should vote. The ballot is your means to select your leaders and determine your futures.
“A government’s legitimacy is not just won at the ballot box. As we have learned in the United States in our 238-year old democratic experiment, credibility in governance is won every day in the work of elected leaders who deliver services equally to all citizens and refrain from using the trappings of power for personal enrichment.
The Assistant Secretary of State, who said he focus of the bi-national meeting would also be on corruption, recalled that the US gave $5 million to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2013, assuring “We will continue to work with the Commission and all other anti-corruption partners.
“At the request of your Minister of Petroleum, we sent a delegation in December to discuss oil-bunkering and revenue diversion with members of your government and all levels of society and to hear what Nigeria can do to fight these issues.
“Our delegation came up with some ideas of what can be done. We look forward to sharing them with you.
“We are here to work with our partners in the Nigerian government to help find solutions, mindful that the Nigerian people themselves realize it is the job of every Nigerian to fight this battle. You must know your rights and demand accountability of your government, of each other, and of yourselves.”
” Throughout these two days, I know that we will significantly further the dialogue between our countries on these issues, and I look forward to the exchange. But the exchange of views we always look forward to most is that between a people and their government.
“All Nigerians, the United States, and countries throughout the world will be watching to see what you, as Nigerians, do with the opportunities set before you,” she said.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, restated the Federal Government’s commitment to winning the war against terror, saying “Nigeria will win that fight because Nigerians are peace loving people and have fought for peace since 1960 when we became a nation”.
