Nigeria in many respect is 'gateway to Africa' - U.S. diplomat

The United States Assistant Secretary of State for Africa is currently on a tour of Africa. He was on Thursday in Nigeria where he met a wide range of political actors.

Nagy in his remarks at stressed the importance of the west African nation to the world. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous and has the biggest economy.

“Nigeria, of course, is in many respects the gateway to Africa. How could I not go to Nigeria if I was going to Africa?” the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria quoted him as having said.

In addressing a joint press conference with Nigeria’s elections chief, Nagy said the U.S. had only one candidate in the upcoming general elections.

“The candidate that the U.S. supports in the Nigerian elections is the election process itself,” he said in Abuja after meeting the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, chairperson, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

He also met with major political stakeholders in the country’s politics. On the side of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, he met with Buhari’s campaign chief and transport minister, Rotimi Ameachi.

On the part of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, he met its national chairman Uche Secondus and Senate president Bukola Saraki who defected from APC to PDP.

The presidential race will be fought between APC’s Muhammadu Buhari and the PDP’s Atiku Abubakar. Atiku is a former vice-president whos also abandoned the APC to rejoin the PDP before sealing its candidature at an elective congress in October.

Nagy’s other stops in his two-week tour are Togo, Guinea and Mali.

Great meetings with INECNigeria Chairman Yakubu and representatives from APCNigeria and OfficialPDPNig today in Abuja

The United States supports the electoral process and encourages all parties to work together to ensure free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections pic.twitter.com/uVf7VGBBhA

— Tibor Nagy (AsstSecStateAF) November 8, 2018