EU ambassador make scathing assessment of Bola Tinubu’s presidency
Bola Tinubu
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According to a report in Africa Intelligence, an internal memo from the European Union election observation mission criticised President Bola Tinubu’s victory and called into question his mandate. The mission, led by MEP Barry Andrews, presented its report on the February polls. President Tinubu dismissed the report as a “poorly done desk job” that he claimed was aimed at discrediting the outcome of the Nigerian election held on the 25th of February 2023.
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The Nigerian president’s aggrievement with the EU is not likely to dissipate, especially after even harsher criticism from the EU ambassador to that country, Samuela Isopi. An internal memorandum that was seen by the publication allegedly describes President Tinubu’s mandate as the weakest since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999. The memo posits that this weak mandate would more than likely result in instability further down the road. According to the report, “the note raises questions about Tinubu’s public support and the strength of his mandate, given that he was elected by less than 10% of the electorate.”
The report also states that Isopi had serious misgivings about the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which oversees the election and accounts for the veracity of the results. The EU ambassador to Abuja also questioned the independence and the impartiality of the chairperson of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu. The memo stated that the ballot’s lack of transparency and credibility was due not only to INEC’s “inability”, but also to its possible “unwillingness”.
It is noteworthy that the EU observer mission’s findings led by MEP Barry Andrews did not include the accusations.
Aspersions cast on Nigeria VP
The memo also named Nigerian VP Kashim Shettima as being under a cloud of suspicion. Isopi’s memo mentions that Shettima’s failure to act on alerts that were raised after Islamic State of West Africa raids and attacks in the region under his governorship were of concern.
Nigeria-EU agreements
Isopi is calling for closer ties with Nigeria despite this scathing memorandum. It is yet to be seen whether Abuja would regard such a note as damaging to diplomatic relations between Europe and Africa’s most populous nation. However, it is thought that President Tinubu would welcome closer ties to Europe after no European representatives attended his inauguration in any official capacity. The EU’s high representative on foreign affairs is due to visit Nigeria in October as part of the 8th EU-Nigeria Ministerial Dialogue. The signing of a security partnership between the EU and Nigeria is one of the key goals of Brussels
