2023 election:  UK is watching closely, says British High Commissioner, Laing

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Cateriona Laing, has said the United Kingdom, like the rest of the international community, would be watching the 2023 general elections in Nigeria very closely.

This, she explained, is because of the important position occupied by Nigeria in Africa and the rest of the world.

Laing, who stated this during a meeting with the National Working Committee, NWC, of Peoples Democratic Party, at the PDP National Secretariat, Abuja, yesterday, said: “This election is very important to Africa and the rest of the world, so the spotlight will be on Nigeria and the UK will be watching closely.

“We engage in so many ways, we have spoken with INEC, civil societies, we don’t support any political party, it is for the people of Nigeria to decide who will lead them at the federal level and state levels. In that spirit, we are meeting all the main political parties.

“I met with the chairman in February, this is our second meeting and I will be meeting all the other chairs of the main political parties.”

Speaking about her concerns for the elections, she said: “The few things that are on my mind, just to make sure that the elections go very well, number one is security, and we have been really concerned about the recent events.

”52 election violence-related issues in 22 states, including an attack on the PDP convoy in Maiduguri, is a real concern, and we want to exchange our thoughts on what you can do as a political party to ensure that the elections are as peaceful as possible.

“When people feel intimidated, they can’t get out to vote, the election itself will not be credible, that is why violence is of great concern. On the issue of electoral violence, you can make a statement about the last election, as well as we do have positive support, since we do have sanctions in the form of our visa program.

“That is why it is embedded in every nook and cranny of this country. PDP has structures in every unit in Nigeria. Everybody knows what happened in 2015 was an aberration, we won that election and it was stolen.

“In 2019, we won again and it was stolen but we believe in 2023, by February 25, PDP will come back to power because we have put every structure on ground.

“Nigerians love PDP because they have tested both sides, the current government and our previous government of PDP.

“Nigerians are waiting for our party and our party is built on pure democracy. Remember, when the National Peace Commission asked our people to come and sign that we are going to do our campaign on issues, my party was the first, and we signed that documents, and we have maintained all the issues raised by the National Peace Commission.“

He, however, expressed the party’s disappointment that other political parties had shown little or no regard to the agreement.