Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has hailed the United States for imposing visa restrictions on alleged electoral offenders in Nigeria.
Saraki stated this in a terse message he shared via his Facebook page on Wednesday.
Recall that the US government imposed the visa restrictions on some persons for allegedly undermining the electoral process in the 2019 general election and some staggered elections held between last year and this year.
Some of those affected are a resident electoral commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), three governors, academics, and some top chieftains in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Reacting, Saraki described the American government’s decision as commendable.
He urged the governments of the United Kingdom and the European Union to follow suit.
Saraki wrote, “I join millions of Nigerians to commend the United Kingdom and other international partners for responding swiftly to protect Nigeria’s democracy with visa restrictions and asset bans for electoral saboteurs.
“I appeal to the European Union to follow suit. This is necessary to send the right and strong signal that those who undermine democracy in Nigeria are enemies of the rest of the democratic world.
“The sanctions should go beyond politicians and include electoral officers, security officials and judicial officers who undermine our democracy by their actions during and after elections.”
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