Kogi Govt Writes US, Protests Visa Ban

The Kogi State government has kicked against the recent visa ban imposed on politicians alleged to have rigged the November 2019 elections in the state by the United States of America.

The US government had on Monday slammed a visa restriction on some individuals for allegedly rigging the November 2019 governorship and senatorial by-election elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States as well as in the run-up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo governorship polls.

But in a letter addressed to the
Ambassador of the United States in Nigeria, signed by the Secretary to the Government of Kogi State, Mrs Folashade Arike Ayoade, the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, said the US should have created room no matter how slim for fair hearing.

Read Also: Governors, INEC REC, APC, PDP Chieftains On US Visa Ban List

In the letter titled: “Re: Visa Re- strictions On Individuals And Inclusion Of The 2019 Kogi State Gubernatorial Elections In US State Department List Of Allegedly Compromised Elections A Letter Of Protest,” Kogi State government also urged the US to accord greater empathy, more civility and much less disruption to nascent democracies.

The letter reads in part: “The Kogi State Government became aware of a United States Government list of individuals who received US visa restrictions for alleged electoral malpractices via a Press Statement to that effect posted on your Embassy website at https://bit.ly/32vD96M.

“In your own words, the still unnamed individuals are cited as guilty of ‘acts of violence, intimidation, or corruption that harmed Nigerians and undermined the democratic process.’ They are also alleged to ‘have operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and undermined democratic principles and human rights.

“You also noted in the Statement
that the sanctions are derived from unspecified misconducts by the said individuals which extend from the February/March 2019 General Elections in Nigeria through the off-cycle November 2019 gubernatorial elections in Kogi and Bayelsa to the yet unheld governorship contests in Edo and Ondo States.

Please note that for the purposes of this protest letter we are only interested in the citations to the extent that they are referable to Kogi State and her citizens.”

29th March 2024
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