U.S. imposes visa ban on 2023 election manipulators
By Moses Adeniyi
True to its warnings of imposing sanctions of visa ban on more perpetrators of electoral corruption in the 2023 general elections, the Government of the United States has slammed a visa restriction on those it described as “specific individuals in Nigeria” for undermining the democratic process during the 2023 elections cycle.
Among Nigerians the U.S. Government imposed the restriction were those the findings of the Government specifically established and nailed to have involved in intimidation of voters through threats and physical violence, manipulation of election results and any other activities that run contrary to democratic tenets during the recent general elections.
It was gathered that the consequences for those on the list of visa ban, include that they could be refused American visa upon application.
They also risk denial of entry into the U.S. if they currently possesss valid visas before the restrictions were imposed.
However, identities of the Nigerians slammed with the visa restrictions by the U.S. Government were still covered as at the time of filing this report.
The decision of the U.S. Government was made known in a statement posted on its website on Monday by the Secretary of State, USA, Anthony Blinken.
“Today, I am announcing that we have taken steps to impose visa restrictions on specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 elections cycle.
“The United States is committed to supporting and advancing democracy in Nigeria and around the world,” he said.
Blinken, who clarified that the visa restrictions “are specific to certain individuals and are not directed at the Nigerian people or the government of Nigeria as a whole,” stated that “under Section 212(a)(3)C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, these individuals will be subject to restrictions on visas to the United States under a policy covering those believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy.
“These individuals have been involved in intimidation of voters through threats and physical violence, the manipulation of vote results, and other activity that undermines Nigeria’s democratic process,” he stated.
The U.S. Government further said that the visa restrictions reflected the continued commitment of the United States to support Nigeria’s aspirations to strengthen democracy and the rule of law.
Some international election observers had raised concern over calculated attempts sponsored from some quarters to disrupt and manipulate the polls by violence and other machinations during the 2023 general elections.
Recall the European Union Election Observation Mission, had raised concerns over the conduct of some persons and institutions during the polls.
In a statement by the Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, after the March 18 governorship and State House of Assembly polls, the EU mission had said Nigerians hungered for democracy and were ready to be involved in the country’s democracy, but that the appetite was lost due to failures by the political elites and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Throughout the mission, we saw that Nigerians have a great appetite for democracy and are keen to engage in various civic activities.
“However, in many parts of the country, their expectations were not met. Many were disappointed and we witnessed voter apathy that is in part, a clear consequence of failures by political elites and, unfortunately, also by INEC.
“Public confidence and trust in INEC were severely damaged on 25 February due to lack of transparency and operational failures in the conduct of the federal level polls,” he had said.
The U.S. after which Nigeria’s democracy is said to have been modelled has been a close observer of Nigerian elections.
Picking interest in the 2023 general elections, the Government in the build up towards the elections had since November 2022 warned that it would impose visa restrictions on Nigerians found to be undermining the sanctity of electoral democratic process in the Country.
In January, the U.S. government had issued an initial visa restriction on “specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process in a recent Nigerian election.”
Blinken had made it clear that the visa restriction issued in January was only aimed at individuals perceived to be threats to the country’s general elections in February and March, not the country itself.
The U.S. Government had further warned in January that “additional persons who undermine the democratic process in Nigeria—including in the lead-up to, during, and following Nigeria’s 2023 elections—may be found ineligible for U.S. visas under this policy.”
“The visa restrictions announced today are specific to certain individuals and are not directed at the Nigerian people or the Government of Nigeria. The decision to impose visa restrictions reflects the commitment of the United States to support Nigerian aspirations to combat corruption and strengthen democracy and the rule of law,” the U.S. government had said.
