UK observers besiege Nigeria

More than 100 observers from the United Kingdom will be deployed across 15 states for Saturday’s presidential election in Nigeria.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Catriona Laing, said this on Tuesday while discussing the UK’s efforts to support free, fair and credible elections in the country.

The presidential and National Assembly elections have been slated for February 16, 2019.

Laing said the UK respected Nigeria’s sovereignty and would help it to strengthen its democracy.

Speaking as a guest on Nigerian Info FM in Abuja, she said, “As an independent observer country, we respect Nigeria’s sovereignty; it is our job to stand with the people of Nigeria in this democratic journey.”

On efforts to foster to contribute its quota to the strengthening of the democratic process in Nigeria, Laing added, “The process is what matters to us.

This is why we will be deploying over 100 observers covering 15 states to support observer missions from the European Union, United States Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria and other local observers.

“We are confident that many things have been put in place since 2015 to strengthen the process.

“We’ve invested heavily as a partner with the Independent National Electoral Commission and civil societies to strengthen those institutions and make the process stronger.”