The Ambassador of the United
States to Nigeria, Mr. James
Entwistle, has applauded the
decision of the Independent
National Electoral Commission to
use the Permanent Voter Card in
the general elections which
commenced on Saturday.
The ambassador, who spoke with
journalists at the International
Conference Centre, venue of the
National Collation Centre of the
election results, on Sunday said
Nigeria’s PVC involved superior
technology which his state of
Virginia in the US needed to copy.
He said, “I am very impressed by
the decision of INEC to use
technology in this election. The
Permanent Voter Cards are very
high-tech.
“They are more high tech than my
voter card from the state of Virginia
in the US. My voter card does not
have biometric. It does not have my
fingerprint. The high-tech gives the
process more integrity.
“I congratulate INEC on taking the
part of High-tech. I think we need
to come and study it so that we can
use it in my country.”
The ambassador expressed hope
that INEC would address the
challenges experienced in the use
of card readers and move forward.
Entwistle, who said he monitored
the elections in Abuja, expressed
satisfaction over the patience and
dedication of Nigerians to the
smooth conduct of the exercise.
He said, “I was extremely
impressed. On Saturday, I went to
number of places in the FCT. Every
place I went, I was impressed by
the patience and dedication of the
Nigerian voter. I found that
inspirational.”
Entwistle further said Nigerians had
reminded the world of how
beautiful democracy was.
He said the expectation of the
American government “is that the
Nigerian people will win”.
He added that his country’s
government would be willing to
work with anybody who emerged
as winner of the presidential
election.
He said, “I mean they (the people)
will get what they want which of
course is a transparent, credible
and non-violent election. We look
forward to working with whatever
government emerges from the
election.”
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
