Nigeria provides 350 data capturing machines for Guinea Bissau election

Nigeria has donated 350 Direct Data Capturing Machines and photocopiers to support Guinea Bissau’s forthcoming general election, scheduled for March 16.
The Minister of State 2 for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed, stated this on Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at bilateral talks with Portugal’s Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Rui Machete.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that both ministers met on the sidelines of the ongoing 22nd Ordinary Session of the African Union.
Mohammed said that Nigeria would strongly support constitutionality and the implementation of security sector reforms in Guinea Bissau.
He said that Nigeria’s strong stance on democratic reforms in that country had annoyed some interests in the West African country.
Mohammed stated that last October’s attack on Nigeria’s embassy in Guinea Bissau was “politically motivated” by some elements opposed to Nigeria’s demand for return to “constitutionality”.
He recalled that the attack led to the unfortunate death of a Nigerian.
He said that President Goodluck Jonathan had demonstrated leadership in the sub-region by being the only foreign Head of State that visited Guinea Bissau last November, after the April 12, 2012 coup.
Mohammed said that ECOWAS had also shown genuine concern on the situation in the country and had set aside $65 million to pursue security sector reforms.
The minister said that he had earlier met the Managing Director of the European Union for Africa, where the issue of Guinea Bissau and the role of ECOWAS was extensively discussed.
He said: “The EU had taken a principled and idealistic position on the coup in Guinea Bissau, saying it will have nothing to do with Guinea Bissau until democratic institutions are restored.
“ECOWAS took a more practical solution, bearing in mind that after the coup, interim President Raimundo Pereira and interim Prime Minister Carlos Gomez Junior were in detention.
“Our first intervention was to secure the release of Pereira and Gomez and take them to safety.”
Mohammed said that although the situation in Guinea Bissau still remained tense, Nigeria welcomed the decision of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde to hold their national congress this weekend.
He said: “We do not have any interest on who emerges.
“We are just after a very credible, all inclusive election, a free and fair democratic process.”
Mohammed appealed to the government of Portugal to use its influence to bring together all parties in the crises in Guinea Bissau.
NAN reports that Portugal, a former colonial authority in Guinea Bissau, had remained a core partner in the quest for political stability in the country following the 2012 coup.
Earlier, Machete told the minister that the role of ECOWAS in the forthcoming elections in Bissau would be “decisive”.
He called for the cooperation of other African countries to ensure credible elections in Guinea Bissau.
NAN reports that the ministers also discussed the importance of improved bilateral ties between both countries and areas of cooperation on security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Machete thanked Nigeria for supporting Portugal’s bid for a seat in the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2015 to 2017 period.
He congratulated Nigeria for her election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2014 to 2015 period.