The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr. Garba Abari, has asked the international community to respect Nigeria’s peculiar realities and democratic process as they consider engagements with the country after the 2019 General Elections.
According to the NOA DG who received the Royal Kingdom of Norway’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Jens-Petter Kjemprud in his office in Abuja, Nigeria, “expects from the international community a great deal of understanding, greater respect for our norms and values, support for our development and expansion of the frontiers of our economic and political engagements”.
Dr. Abari, who said although elections are not fully over, given the few yet-to-be-announced election results, the current Federal Government was able to secure a second term, noting that though the elections were not hitch-free as expected, it has ultimately shamed the Nay-Sayers who were actually anticipating a violent and divided Nigeria at the end of the electioneering process.
In his word, “Elections in Nigeria are usually very passionate and Nigerians are believers in the democratic process. You can see that aggrieved persons have started moving to the judiciary with the firm belief that the right thing will be done”.
The Norwegian envoy, Mr Jens-Petter Kjemprud while responding, noted that Norway has enjoyed a good diplomatic relationship with Nigeria since after independence in 1960, though both nations have been business allies since 1890. He noted the importance of a good relationship with Nigeria, saying 70 Norwegian companies do business in Nigeria.
Mr. Kjemprud said that the importance of the common interest and bilateral ties between Norway and Nigeria cannot be over emphasized, hence the need to protect the common interest of the two countries.
