2023: Okowa urges international community to partner Nigeria

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state has called on the international community to partner the federal government to enthrone credibility and integrity in its electoral process.

He said Nigeria is too strategic for its challenges to be ignored.
Okowa made the call when he received the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, at Government House, Asaba.
He said Nigerians were desirous for free and credible elections in 2023 and beyond and urged the global community to lend its support as the country was important and should not to be allowed to go into crisis.


“The international community has a lot of role to play. We know that they are not going to be directly involved in the electioneering process but we also believe that in whatever way and manner they are able to have strong voice towards ensuring a credible process in the electioneering that will take place in 2023, the better for us.


“Nigeria is too important a nation to go into crisis and we know that any crisis in Nigeria will impact very negatively in our world today.
“To that extent, I believe that the global community has to have their eyes on Nigeria. Wherever they need to offer support to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), they should not hesitate to do so.
“Whatever they have to do through diplomacy to truly help in partnership with the federal government to drive credible elections in 2023, we will appreciate it because a credible election in 2023 will obviously strengthen us as a people and as a nation.


“It will help to give greater hope to our youth who are looking up to the Nigeria of tomorrow and to give a greater reassurance to them, otherwise the anger that we see today in the voices of our youth we may not be able to manage it.


“We saw a bit of it in the ENDSARS protests and it is not something that we will wish to have again. So, we need to begin to reassure them that we are interested in their future and in Nigeria that works for all where everybody’s voice is important,” he said.