Nigerian President Jonathan, EU, ECOWAS Observer Teams Meet Over Poll Shift
President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday, met separately with election observer missions from the European Union (EU) and the Economic Communi...
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President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday, met separately with election observer missions from the European Union (EU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the Presidential Villa, over the postponed general election in the country.
The president was said to have used the closed door meetings with the delegations to reiterate that elections would hold and those alleging that his administration was planning to put in place an Interim National Government were only being mischievous.
Chief of European Union Observer Mission, Santiago Fisas, told State House correspondents after the meeting that they met Jonathan to exchange views with him on the general election.
“I’m very happy to be assured by the president that the inauguration of the next president will take place on May 29. I think this is very good news because this is constitutional,” he stated.
Asked whether he believed what the president said, he added: “Yes. I don’t see why I should doubt that. The president said that publicly and also to us. We asked questions on security and he said to us that in a very short period of time the security situation will improve a lot.”
While also emerging from the meeting with Jonathan, President of ECOWAS Commission, Kadre Desire Ouédraogo, revealed to State House correspondents that the observers were at the Presidential Villa to present a report and recommendations on their observations so far to the president.
He said ECOWAS had sent a fact-finding mission headed by former Ghanaian president, John Kuffour, as well as having a long term observation mission deployed to five geo-political zones in the country from where they made their report.
He said in spite of the postponement of the election, there had been a de-briefing with the observation mission which ECOWAS found necessary to share with Jonathan.
Ouédraogo added that the mission would engage with all the stakeholders, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Major General Muhammadu Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “to share with them the findings of our observation mission.”
“We have also issued a declaration following the postponement of elections, appealing for calm and understanding and also appealing to all authorities to make sure the constitution is respected,” he added.
Source: Nigerian Tribune
The president was said to have used the closed door meetings with the delegations to reiterate that elections would hold and those alleging that his administration was planning to put in place an Interim National Government were only being mischievous.
Chief of European Union Observer Mission, Santiago Fisas, told State House correspondents after the meeting that they met Jonathan to exchange views with him on the general election.
“I’m very happy to be assured by the president that the inauguration of the next president will take place on May 29. I think this is very good news because this is constitutional,” he stated.
Asked whether he believed what the president said, he added: “Yes. I don’t see why I should doubt that. The president said that publicly and also to us. We asked questions on security and he said to us that in a very short period of time the security situation will improve a lot.”
While also emerging from the meeting with Jonathan, President of ECOWAS Commission, Kadre Desire Ouédraogo, revealed to State House correspondents that the observers were at the Presidential Villa to present a report and recommendations on their observations so far to the president.
He said ECOWAS had sent a fact-finding mission headed by former Ghanaian president, John Kuffour, as well as having a long term observation mission deployed to five geo-political zones in the country from where they made their report.
He said in spite of the postponement of the election, there had been a de-briefing with the observation mission which ECOWAS found necessary to share with Jonathan.
Ouédraogo added that the mission would engage with all the stakeholders, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Major General Muhammadu Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “to share with them the findings of our observation mission.”
“We have also issued a declaration following the postponement of elections, appealing for calm and understanding and also appealing to all authorities to make sure the constitution is respected,” he added.
Source: Nigerian Tribune
