Sambo Meets With Buhari, Gives Report On Niger Republic Polls
Former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, Monday met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja.
During the meeting, the former vice president gave an update on his assignment as the ECOWAS Head of Mission on the election in the Republic of Niger.
He told the President that he met with all the stakeholders before the polls, which went into a run-off after the initial exercise in December last year was inconclusive.
“We observed about 400 polling units in five regions of the country, and the process was peaceful, done professionally. Every citizen was given the right to vote and be voted for,” Sambo was quoted as saying in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
He also described the election as “a great improvement on that of December 27 last year,” and thanked President Buhari for facilitating the transportation needs of his team.
Receiving a report on the elections in the neighbouring country, President Buhari congratulated the former vice president and his team for a job well done, noting that they came back with good news.
“Nigeria shares more than 1,400 kilometres of border with the Republic of Niger, and we should be concerned about the stability of that country.
“We are concerned about their stability, and I am glad the elections went well. I am happy it was transparent, as attested to by most of the observers,” he said.
The candidate of the ruling party was announced by the electoral body as having won more than 50% of the votes, a decision disputed by the opposition candidate who has filed an application at the constitutional court for redress.
According to the Constitution of the Republic of Niger, only the constitutional court has the powers to declare a winner in an election.