Hours after the United States expressed its readiness to slam visa restrictions on those who violate electoral laws in the 2023 general elections, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has said he is fully in tune withe decision.
Atiku, while expressing his happiness over the development on Thursday, said other advanced democracies of the world must toe same path as part of efforts to save Nigeria.
“I welcome the United States visa ban on anti-democratic elements whose actions seek to undermine the 2023 elections in Nigeria,” he wrote on Thursday.
Going further, the PDP candidate said, “I encourage other established democracies to follow suit to ensure that there’s no hiding place for the enemies of our democracy.”
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, had said on Wednesday that the sanctioned individuals, whose names he did not reveal, would be ineligible for the US visa.
He stressed that some family members of those barred from the US may be subjected to the same restriction.
He stated, ”We are committed to supporting and advancing democracy in Nigeria and around the world. Today, I am announcing visa restrictions on specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process in a recent Nigerian election.
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‘’Under Section 212(a)(3)C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, these individuals will be found ineligible for visas to the United States under a policy to restrict visas of those believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Nigeria.
‘’Certain family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions. Additional persons who undermine the democratic process in Nigeria—including in the lead-up to, during, and following Nigeria’s 2023 elections—may be found ineligible for U.S. visas under this policy.’’