US Donates Over $25m To Support 2023 General Election

United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Marybeth Leonard has said that the U.S. government have supported the Nigerian government with over Twenty-five million dollars through different programmes towards achieving free, fair, and credible elections.

Leonard made this known in a roundtable chat with Journalists in Abuja, stating that the U.S. government is supporting a credible electoral process but does not support a particular party or candidate.

She said that the U.S. has been very present in Nigeria’s democratic journey since 1999, commending Nigeria for upholding a peaceful, and consistent democracy.

So we have long been involved in democracy and governance through programmes in Nigeria and probably we are spending about 25 million dollars with particular reference to this election.

“We are doing many things. First of all, we are sponsoring an independent observation mission with some very high-powered delegation, U.S Veterans, they are independent of us but we have played a role in facilitating.

“We have worked with INEC itself, on sort of the technical aspects, for example, we trained some 1,800 technical workers on how to troubleshoot the BVAS and those people in their turns have trained hundreds of thousands of other people.

“So that come election day, if there is any trouble with the technology, people will be around to know how to fix it.

“We have done a lot of trying to facilitate a diversity of participation in elections, to make it easier for a lot of people with disabilities. We are encouraging youth and women to vote.

“We have worked with journalists to train them on how to spot misinformation, how journalists engage during the electoral process, we have worked with security agencies.

“I think we have had a well-rounded interaction regarding this election and again we are really looking forward to seeing the peaceful elections,” Leonard said.

She said that just like the candidates and political parties, every Nigerian has the responsibility of ensuring a peaceful process, warning Nigerians against anyone who tries to incite violence.

-Vanguard