America, Britain warn Nigerian officials against manipulating election results

The American and British Governments have issued a stern warning to Nigerian authorities, asking them to jettison any attempt to distort the outcomes of Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections, according to Premium Times.

The U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry and U.K. Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, in a joint statement on Monday commended Nigerians on the peaceful conduct of last Saturday’s presidential and parliamentary elections and urged for continued steadfastness as they await the announcement of the final result.

''Our governments welcome the largely peaceful vote on March 28. The Nigerian people have shown a commendable determination to register their vote and choose their leaders. But there are disturbing indications that the collation process—where the votes are finally counted—may be subject to deliberate political interference. This would contravene the letter and spirit of the Abuja Accord, to which both major parties committed themselves. The Governments of the United States and the United Kingdom would be very concerned by any attempts to undermine the independence of the Electoral Commission (INEC), or its Chairman, Professor Jega; or in any way distort the expressed will of the Nigerian people,'' they said.