Former American President Bill Clinton has canceled his trip to Nigeria ahead of Saturday’s general elections, saying the visit could be politicized.
Former American President Bill Clinton has canceled his trip to Nigeria ahead of Saturday’s general elections, saying the visit could be politicized. Clinton’s visit had earlier been reported and was scheduled for Wednesday February 13th. The 42nd President of the United States of America and Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Baroness Patricia Scotland, had been named dignitaries for the goodwill messages at the signing of a National Peace Accord scheduled to take place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. Bill Clinton had called off his own participation, citing fear that his participation could be politicised.
Earlier on Monday, the ruling All Progressives Congress had accused the United States and a handful of Western and European countries of supporting opposition Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The planned trip was facilitated by the Kofi Annan Foundation and the National Peace Committee. A press release signed by his spokesman Angel Ureña, states, “Over the course of the last several days, and after various conversations with the different stakeholders, it’s become apparent that President Clinton’s visit to Nigeria has the potential to be politicised in a way that is not in line with the goals of the Committee. Therefore, he will not be traveling to Abuja.”
Bill Clinton reportedly promised to continue to support the NPC ‘s work toward peaceful and fair elections in Nigeria. The statement added that the American statesman will speak later this week with President Muhammadu Buhari. He also reportedly expressed the desire that the outcome of the election will reflect the wishes of Nigerian.
