Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello has kicked against the US visa ban imposed on some politicians who allegedly sponsored the last governorship election in Kogi and Bayelsa state.
The governor referred to the ban as unwarranted interference in the state’s political and social process.
The American government had imposed visa restrictions on some Nigerians for undermining electoral processes in the elections.
According to spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Morgan Ortagus, the decision also targets those accused of working to undermine the November 2019 governorship polls in Kogi and Bayelsa.
Reacting to this, the governor in a letter directed to the US embassy in Nigeria, Bello accused the US of unwarranted interference, adding that though the election in the state was not without challenges, the “regrettable incidents” were only limited to a few polling units.
The letter which was dated September 16 and was written by the secretary of the state, Folashade Ayoade also accused the U.S. of partisan politics
“Please note that for the purposes of this protest letter we are only interested in the citations to the extent that they are preferable to Kogi state and her citizens.
“For the most part, we concede that elections in Nigeria are complex affairs that will continue to require improvements for the foreseeable future.
“The 2019 Kogi state gubernatorial election was also not without its challenges. However, it is also crystal clear from critical and composite analyses of the records (official, media, observers, etc) of the November 16, 2020 polls that regrettable incidents were limited to a few polling units, while the overwhelmingly larger portions of the ballot were free, fair and credible.
“Further, and in line with Nigerian law, the few political parties, and individuals who alleged widespread electoral malpractices had free rein to contest the outcome in court. They vigorously litigated their claims over a grueling 9-month period, through a 3-step hierarchy of courts, to the inescapable conclusion at the Supreme Court of Nigeria that the said elections satisfactorily complied with the Nigerian constitution and the electoral act.
“Our concern right now is not the prerogative of the United States of America to impose entry restrictions on anyone, for any or no reason at all, which prerogative remains unfettered, but the room for atrocious misinformation which the timing of your Press Statement and the mention of the Kogi elections therein has created in our state.
“As it is now, partisan speculation as to who is indicted, who is not and for what has become cudgels, furiously swung in the media space by all comers. Your action has therefore added abundant grist to the rumour mills and electrified the merchants of fake news.
“Let it be noted that we are not challenging your visa bans in any way, whoever they may affect and for how long, but we do register the strongest protest possible as a State to the collateral and unwarranted interference in our political and social processes which it represents,” she wrote.
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