Posted by By Simon Ateba on
The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms. Robin Sanders, has officially commenced campaining for her country's presidential election, the U.S. Embassy said, yesterday.
The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms. Robin Sanders, has officially commenced campaining for her country's presidential election, the U.S. Embassy said, yesterday.
A statement by Mrs. Omotunde Oyejoke, an information specialist (Broadcast Media) at the U.S Public Affairs Section in Lagos state, stated that between now and 4 November, 2008, when the U.S Presidential election takes place, the US Mission in Nigeria will be engaged in election-related themes, emphasizing the democracy pillar, one of the four key pillars of US Mission to Nigeria.
Sanders, Omotunde said, opened the Fulbright Alumni Association of Nigeria (FAAN) conference at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), on 23 September, with a speech kicking off upcoming activities related to the 2008 US elections.
In her address to the Nigerian Fulbrighters, scholars from various Nigerian universities who have been beneficiaries of US funding assistance for research and study at US institutions, Ambassador Sanders discussed the variety of support mechanisms given by the US Mission to build and support institutions that lead to transparency and good governance. She listed a number of such support mechanisms.
Ambassador Sanders said, 'Our assistance to the National Assembly, the Electoral Reform Committee, women in politics and civil society are examples. We are also working with state governments on fiscal responsibility and due process. But in the end, democracy is about democratic processes and institutions, and having democracy reflect the law of the land and the people it is supposed to represent.'
Ambassador Sanders told her audience, which included the Vice Chancellor of UNILAG, Professor Tolu Odugbemi, and other senior administration and faculty members of the institution that 'the U.S. democracy is fluid and dynamic as all democracies should be. But this year, more than ever, our democracy is groundbreaking, with its diversity of gender, race, and age.'
She also said, 'As you watch our electoral process unfold and evolve, I hope you will be inspired as Fulbrighters to attempt new approaches to improve and strengthen Nigeria's electoral and governance systems so that its democracy can thrive.'
Ambassador Sanders added, 'As all democracies can learn from each other- you from us, but we can also learn from you. And you, as Fulbrighters, are partners with the US Mission's effort on educational development.'
The statement did not specify whether the U.S Ambassador will be campaigning for Republican candidate, John McCain, or Barack Obama, the Democratic Party presidential candidate.