Us Group Readies Wide Ranging Sanctions On Inec And Other Nigerian Government Officials
Washington DC; February 14, 2019: The Eastern Mandate Union (EMU)-Abroad had, at her just concluded Annual Winter Meeting held in the suburbs of Washington DC, expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of her multinational sensitization on the dicey political environment in Nigeria.
EMU belongs to the International Coalition Interest Group On Nigeria (ICIGON)-a loose coalition of representatives of about 50 influential organizations and agencies, whose interests are to ensure free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections in Nigeria. In his address to the well-attended gathering the EMU Chairman, Professor Eddie Oparaoji, informed participants that EMU and her ICIGON partners have for over the past six months, engaged in relentless lobbying efforts at influential entities, which have resulted in significant strong statements, from the United States, United Nations, Britain, European Union, and others, calling on the Nigerian government to conduct free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections, or else face various sanctions including but not limited to Visa ban, accounts freeze etc.
Professor Oparaoji also revealed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, and various security agencies have been communicated through back channels, on the consequences of an election result that does not reflect the will of the Nigerian electorate. He also announced that he had received the “report from our SI (Security and Intelligence) committee, containing among other recommendations, about 113 names of potential targets for recommendation to the US States Department and the National Security Council, for full US sanctions, for violent and /or fraudulent outcomes of the elections.”
In response to a question on the concerns of ICIGON, Professor Oparaoji said “Their concern is the spillover effect of any crisis, across the West Africa sub-region and indeed the African continent. Nigeria is an important political and economic partner- an oil producing country, the world’s fourth largest democracy, with a population of almost 200 million people; ongoing terrorist attacks from Boko Haram, Jihadist herdsmen and other extremist groups, that pose major global security implications, if disrupted.”
ICIGON is a loose organization of representatives from the US States Department, United Nations, Human Rights Groups, European Union, Christian Organizations, The Diplomatic Corp, and others.