The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs. Mary Beth Leonard, has commented on the February 25th presidential election, saying it failed to meet the expectation of Nigerians.
She acknowledged the fact that many Nigerians are disappointed and frustrated with the outcome of the election while some others are celebrating.
The ambassador further commended Nigerians for showing their dedication to democracy.
Mary, therefore urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently review and resolve the pending issues ahead of the March 11th gubernatorial elections.
Going forward, she urged INEC to brief Nigerians on steps it is taking to rectify the errors of the previous elections.
This was made known in an op-ed, released by her office titled, ‘The Elections of February 25.’
However, she commended the Labour Party’s (LP) candidate, Peter Obi and Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for taking the legal path to challenge the discrepancies of the February 25th elections, while commending the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu for acknowledging their rights to do so.
The statement partly reads, “The people of Nigeria demonstrated their dedication to democracy on February 25, but there are many angry and frustrated Nigerians as well as many who are celebrating victories they believe were hard-fought and well-earned.
“In the coming days, it will be important for the future of this country that Nigerians not let their differences divide them, and that the legally established process for resolving challenges to the election be allowed to take its course.”
She however assured that as “Nigeria goes through these next weeks and months, we stand with you.”
