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US, UK, France Commend N/Assembly |
By Moses Jolayemi, 05.18.2006
As millions of Nigerians basked in the euphoria of Tuesday’s decision of the Senate to dump the unpopular third term project, United States, United Kingdom and France among other world’s economic powers yesterday congratulated the upper chamber of the National Assembly for a thorough job.
The US government’s terse statement made available to THISDAY yesterday by the embassy spokesman, Rudolph Stewart says: “ The US government respects the decision of the senate”.
Speaking with THISDAY yesterday, the British High Commissioner, Richard Gozney praised the thoroughness in the procedure of the senate’s debate which finally sounded a death blow to the attempt to elongate the tenure of the President and state governors beyond the stipulated two terms of four years each.
According to Gozney, the reaction of the general public also shows that the Nigerian people considered the procedure a thorough one. “This is an encouraging sign”, he declared.
Gozney who spoke over the phone emphasized that the British government had no views on the decision itself but was thrilled by the procedure.
“The British government has noticed carefully that the procedure of the debate was a thorough one. We also noticed that the reaction of the Nigerian public shows that the debate was a thorough one”.
That reaction, he said, also shows that they were in support of the senate decision.
Also yesterday, the French government declared that it took “good note of the Senate's decision to stop discussing the Bill that would have amended the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria”
According to the Press Attache of the embassy, Emmanuel Gagniare who spoke to THISDAY yesterday, though France as a matter of principle, does not intend to intervene in the domestic affairs of a sovereign country like Nigeria, it could not fail to follow the events at the senate leading to the dumping of the third term agenda.
Feelers from other European countries as well as Russia who is current chair of the G8 yesterday revealed that the international community was unanimous in its support for the senate’s decision.
Already, the group of eight industrialised nations has not extended an invitation to President Olusegun Obasanjo following deft moves by proponents of the third term agenda under the watchful eyes of the president.
In desperation, President Obasanjo, according to the organisers of the summit holding in St. Petersburg, had written a letter to the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin requesting for participation at the elite summit. The letter written as far back as March is yet to be acknowledged by Putin.
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