A political activist and former National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has commended the government of the United States of America for announcing a visa ban on those who undermined democracy during the 2023 general elections.
In a statement on the US State Department website, Secretary of State Antony Binken said, “The United States is committed to supporting and advancing democracy in Nigeria and around the world. Today, I am announcing that we have taken steps to impose visa restrictions on specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 elections cycle.”
Reacting to the development through a statement released Tuesday in Abuja, Timi Frank called on the United Kingdom and the European Union to follow suit in punishing fraudulent and compromised individuals who participated in undermining the 2023 general elections in Nigeria.
The political activist said the news came as a breather to ordinary Nigerians whose rights and fate are being determined by criminal politicians.
He said: “I would like to thank and appreciate the decision of the United States, through its Secretary of State (Mr. Anthony Blinken), for its bold move in dealing decisively with all rogue politicians and individuals who participated actively in compromising the conduct and process of the 2023 general elections.
“Indeed, this news comes as a breather to the ordinary Nigerian whose rights and fate are being determined by these criminal politicians.
“The decision of the US has once again given us hope that the era of brazenly undermining the process of a democratic exercise will have dire consequences. It is indeed a wake-up call for all other political actors who have mastered the art of sabotaging and scuttling democratic electioneering processes for personal gains. The US has proven once again that it indeed has the interest of the Nigerian people in ensuring that democracy thrives unhindered to the benefit of the people.”
Frank further urged the government of America to extend a similar ban to the families and cronies of these individuals currently in the US, to serve as a deterrent to all crooked politicians.
“Furthermore, I’d like to reiterate and plead with the US to extend a similar ban to the families and cronies of these individuals currently in the US, to serve as a deterrent to all crooked politicians.
“The US must beam its searchlights on all collaborators and conspirators who participated actively in disenfranchising the people, especially top officials of the DSS. These co-conspirators must also be held liable for the roles they played in undermining the conduct of the elections.
Timi Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, also called on the UK and the EU too, as a matter of urgency, replicate the same measure for every culpable and profiled person whose role aided the compromise of the presidential elections.
“I will like to call on the UK and the EU too, as a matter of urgency, to replicate the same measure for every culpable and profiled person whose role aided the compromise of the presidential elections. You must stand firm and unswayed, irrespective of whoever is involved, and help sustain the true tenets of a democratic nation. The ongoing appeal at the Presidential Elections Tribunal should also be of keen interest to the international community, especially the US and UK, at this time.
“Once again, my esteemed appreciation goes to the US for its timely interventions in dealing decisively with all rogue politicians and their accomplices.”
