We have interest in Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa elections – UK
By Kabir Akintayo
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery has said that the commission will follow with keen interest, the upcoming Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states governorship elections.
The commissioner revealed this on Tuesday during his visit to the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje at the party secretariat in Abuja.
While congratulating Ganduje on his appointment as the party leader of the APC, he commended Nigeria for its level of maturity in resolving political issues at the court of law.
He said “Obviously, there are topical concerns that we have touched, part of it is the gubernatorial elections in Imo, Bayelsa, and in Kogi. That we wish to understand, and we are watching carefully to see the process and the way it is carried out.
“We’ve discussed a number of the legal issues present in the political domain at federal and state level. And it’s important for us as a diplomatic mission to understand how those processes are playing out. And, it is very admiring of the way that Nigeria is using the courts to settle disputes of elections at every level when they occur. And we appreciate that process,” Montgomery said.
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While welcoming the British High Delegation, led by Montgomery, Ganduje reiterated the need to maintain the long time relationship with Britain, saying that, as a colonial master with an older political institution, Nigeria will keep learning from them.
“Let us know that we started with a political system similar to your own because we borrowed from you and you assist us. After having independence you assisted us to form political parties. And to conduct elections during that time. But along the line, our political system changed from Prime Minister to presidential system.
“So, that is where the differences are, but equally the same Democracy is about the governance about good governance to that effect. So it is very encouraging and we’ll take the opportunity to also seek for your permission to give us the opportunity to visit your country and discuss with the political parties that are there, especially as the ruling party.”
The APC, national chairman also called for more cooperation between the two countries to further promote a stronger ties.
“We wants to take our institution to a much higher level to a strong level, anything you do without having a strong institution, then it collapses after some time, but we need to have a high degree of sustainability of our institution,” Ganduje said.
