2023: ‘We’ve spent over £10m on Nigerian elections since 2019’ — British govt

Since 2019, the British government has made public that it has spent $10 million on the Nigerian election process.

Ben Llewelyn-Jones, the British deputy high commissioner to Nigeria, made this revelation in an interview with NAN on Saturday.

The envoy stated that the money was utilized to enhance government agencies, election monitors, and civil society organizations in Nigeria.

He expressed confidence that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will resolve any logistical issues before the election.

Since 2019, we have spent more than £10 million, but not just on INEC, as Llewelyn-Jones noted. “That money went into capacity building for Nigerian government institutions, civil societies, and observers who have been working closely with INEC,” he added.

We are impressed with the actions that have been taken even though there is still much to be done, particularly in terms of logistical difficulties. However, INEC is very skilled and would be able to overcome the difficulties.

“There will always be challenges, but Nigerians should remain supportive,” says INEC. “We encourage Nigerians to work and cooperate with INEC.”

The representative added that the UK government is committed to restricting visas for politicians deemed responsible for undermining democratic processes.

The appropriate thing to do is to inform people to vote for you because of what you would do, not by purchasing votes to persuade them to vote for you, so politicians must stop buying votes.

Politicians and the general public must act morally because the UK government is committed to imposing visa restrictions in places where it has knowledge of attempts to undermine the democratic process.