The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Catriona Laing, has reiterated Britain’s support for INEC’s efforts to oversee “credible, peaceful, free and fair elections.” Ms. Laing expressed this during a visit to INEC headquarters in Abuja, to meet Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and members of his team. She promised that the United Kingdom will continue to support Nigeria’s efforts to deepen democracy. In a similar vein, the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Bernhard Schlagheck, during a courtesy visit to the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, advised the election management body to be “the guarantor of peaceful and credible elections in the country because the world was watching.”
Describing Nigeria as “the biggest economic power house in Africa,” Ambassador Schlagcheck noted that: “Nigeria has 200 million people and it has the dimension of Germany and France carrying a heavy giant weight on the Continent. Thus, whatever happens in Nigeria, has very important repercussion on the rest of Africa and the rest of the world, because Nigeria is a very important country sitting on a lot of wealth, oil and natural resources.” He added that due to the stature of the country, it is important that “Public stability, political stability and economic challenges are handled with care because of the international interest in the country.”