U.S Fulfills Pre-2019 Elections Threat, Bars 2 Ex-Nigerian Govs, Others From Country

The United States has made good its threat to impose visa ban on Nigerian politicians found guilty of either rigging or instigating violence in the 2019 general elections.

The U.S announced on Tuesday that politicians it considered to have undermined the democratic process in Nigeria’s 2019 polls have been restricted from entering the country.

THE WHISTLER had reported how the U.S, ahead of the 2019 elections, warned that it “will not hesitate to consider consequences – including visa restrictions” for politicians who may want to interfere with the election process.

The spokesman for the U.S Department of State, Morgan Ortagus, announcement in a statement in Washington on Tuesday that the country has made good its threats by imposing the sanctions.

“In a January 24 statement, the U.S. government said that we would consider consequences – including visa restrictions – for individuals responsible for undermining the Nigerian democratic process or for organizing election-related violence,” said Ortagus.

“To that end, the Secretary of State is imposing visa restrictions on Nigerians believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Nigeria.  These individuals have operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and undermined democratic principles and human rights.

“We condemn those whose acts of violence, intimidation, or corruption harmed Nigerians or undermined the democratic process,” the statement read in part.

THE WHISTLER gathered that so far, two former governors from the South-South region cannot travel to United States as they’ve been blacklisted as “inadmissible” to the country.

The former governors are said to have been barred from the U.S for certain roles they allegedly played during the last elections in their individual states.

Recall that in the statement it issued ahead of the 2019 elections, the U.S noted that it “does not support any specific candidate or party in Nigeria’s upcoming elections. The United States supports the Nigerian democratic process itself. We support a genuinely free, fair, transparent, and peaceful electoral process.

It added that, “We, and other democratic nations, will be paying close attention to actions of individuals who interfere in the democratic process or instigate violence against the civilian population before, during, or after the elections. We will not hesitate to consider consequences – including visa restrictions – for those found to be responsible for election-related violence or undermining the democratic process. Under U.S. immigration law, certain violations may also lead to restrictions on family members”

A similar threat was issued on January 4, 2019, by the United Kingdom where it noted that it would pay close attention to actions and utterances, including on social media, that are capable of threatening the nation’s democracy.

“We will be deploying an extensive observation mission for the forthcoming elections, including coordinating with the EU’s Election Observation Mission.

“Our monitors will in particular be looking out for any attempts to encourage or use violence to influence the elections, including on social media. We would like to remind all Nigerians that where the UK is aware of such attempts, this may have consequences for individuals. These could include their eligibility to travel to the UK, their ability to access UK based funds or lead to prosecution under international law,” the British High Commission in Abuja had said.