USAID
ROOTING
FOR THE
NIGERIAN
PEOPLE
by Zack Taylor
In the upcoming
elections, the
United States
and USAID
support
free fair,
transparent,
and peaceful
polls.
10
A
sked who the United States
wants to emerge victorious
in the upcoming presidential
election, Ambassador W.
Stuart Symington always gives the
same answer – the Nigerian people.
As in 2015 and in 2011 before it, the
U.S. Mission supports a process and
not a candidate in the upcoming races
for the Nigerian presidency, state
governorships, and state legislature
seats in 2019. Like those previous
elections, the U.S. mission is rooting
only for a free, fair, transparent, and
above all peaceful electoral process.
In support of this goal, the U.S. Agency
for International Development (USAID)
CROSSROADS | December 2018/January 2019
invests in assistance to the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC),
civil society organizations (CSOs),
and political parties to enhance
voter education, strengthen party
development, and support international
election observation for a robust,
inclusive process free of violence.
Since 2014, $58.2 million portfolio of
USAID activities – with $18.6 million
co-funded by the British Department
for International Development – is
helping INEC institutionalize reforms
to ensure credibility and accountability,
assist CSOs in their critical function
of oversight and mobilization of the
electorate, and boost participation
among marginalized groups such as