Senator Risch: U.S. Shouldn’t Rush to Embrace Nigerian Election Results

Bennett Oghifo
U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has advised that the American Government “shouldn’t rush to embrace Nigerian election results.”

Risch, in a statement he released on March 2, 2023 on Nigeria’s recent elections, 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.

“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 long standing 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 U.S Government had congratulated Nigerians on the elections and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu on Wednesday March 1, 2023, a day after INEC declared Tinubu the winner of the presidential election.

A statement by the spokesman of the State Department, Ned Price said, “The United States congratulates the people of Nigeria, president-elect Tinubu and all the political leaders.

“We understand that many Nigerians and some of the parties have expressed frustration about the manner in which the process was conducted.
“Nigerians are clearly within their rights to have such concerns and should have high expectations for their electoral process,” Price said, urging political leaders to register their concerns through established legal “mechanisms.”

“We call on all parties to refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time.”