By Temitope Adedeji
The United Kingdom has warned politicians and political parties that it is watching closely their conduct during the forthcoming general elections.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, made this known on Wednesday during a meeting with members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja.
According to her, the UK would impose visa restrictions on those found to be promoting violence in the election.
The envoy also declared that Britain would not support any presidential candidate or party in next year’s elections.
This is not the first time the British government would be taking such a stand, especially in the last 2019 elections.
Laing said: “That is a real concern and we want to exchange our thoughts on what you can do as a political party to ensure that the elections are as peaceful as possible.
“When people feel intimidated, they can’t get out to vote; the election itself will not be credible. That is why violence is of great concern.
“We will also be watching closely any individual who acts violently or incites people through social media. We do have the possibility of using our visas as sanctions by removing people’s rights to visit the UK.
“We will be watching closely. This applies to all the political parties; not just the parties, but security officials and anybody who might be in that position.
“The important thing is to get the votes out, whatever political party ..you are. The election will be credible if the votes are high. It was low last time — around 35 percent.”
