The United States Government has said it will impose visa restrictions on anyone who promotes violence as Nigeria holds its 2023 general elections.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Michael Gonzales, handed out the warning at an international conference with the theme “United States Policy and Nigeria’s National Decisions in the 2023 Elections”, held at Johns Hopkins University, United States.
The conference, which held at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington DC and virtually, brought together Nigerian and American policy communities to discuss issues around the 2023 general elections.
It was organised by policy research center – Nextier Nigeria, in partnership with SAIS at Johns Hopkins University; the School of International service at the
American University: and the Centre for Peace, Democracy and Development at the University of Massachusetts.
Gonzales said that the United States government “will continue to use our messaging, as well as other diplomatic channels at our disposal, including visa restrictions, where warranted, to dissuade those who might be tempted to use violence to undermine Nigeria’s democratic process.”
He, nonetheless, gave the assurance that the U.S. government remains committed to working with Nigeria to uphold its conventions towards ensuring a peaceful power transition in 2023.
