The European Union envoy to Nigeria, Samuela Isopi, has said it is up to Nigeria to decide what to do with the report of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Nigeria for the 2023 general election.
TRACKNEWS reports that Isopi made the statement in Abuja during the award of postgraduate scholarships to 135 Nigerians.
The EU EOM report, which was released in June, pointed out that the election was “credible” but that there were “shortcomings” in the electoral process.
The presidency, however, rejected the report, saying it was “unfounded” and “a product of a poorly-done desk job that relied heavily on few persons.”
Commenting on the controversy, Isopi said that the EU would continue to collaborate with Nigeria on election-related issues but that it was up to the Nigerian government to decide whether or not to implement the recommendations of the EU EOM report.
“It is the responsibility of the host country, it is the responsibility of the partner country, to decide if they want to make use or not of that report,” Isopi said.
“Our experience with Nigeria so far has been positive, and I can say that the report of the international observation missions, including the European Union, has helped a lot and has helped guide the action and the reform processes, and I have no doubt that this will be the case also this time.”
Isopi also announced that the EU has offered postgraduate scholarships to 135 young Nigerians to study in top European universities. She said Nigeria has been the top beneficiary of the EU postgraduate scholarships in Africa in the past five years.
