Former United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright yesterday had a breakfast meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo where she reportedly expressed strong disappointment with the conduct and outcome of the April general elections.
The meeting came on the heels of a plethora of condemnation of the conduct of the elections as the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a US-based non-governmental organization, said �concerted measures must be taken by the current government within the next five weeks in order to restore credibility and confidence in the electoral process,� as it is unclear if the presidential election reflected the will of Nigerians.
Similarly, a coalition of domestic observers led by the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) called on the National Assembly to intervene in the political transition process by instituting a three-month period outside the life-span and participation of the current administration during which credible elections can be conducted in the country.
The European Union Election Observation Mission in Nigeria also in its interim report released in Abuja said the �the 2007 state and federal elections were far short of basic international and regional standards for democratic elections� as they were marred by wanton irregularities and voter disenfranchisement which made the process lack credibility. The meeting between Albright and Obasanjo was said to have been at the instance of the president who was said to be uncomfortable with the spate of condemnation and rejection of the conduct and outcome of the elections by both local and international observers.
A source close to the meeting confided in THISDAY that Mrs Albright had used the opportunity to register the refusal of the international community to accept the conduct and outcome of the April elections. She was said to have prevailed on President Obasanjo to step up measures that would make room for the restoration of credibility and broad scale acceptability of the elections by allowing the rule of law to take its course within the shortest possible time at the post-election litigations. It is not clear if the meeting between the duo contributed to shaping the tenor of the President�s nation-wide broadcast yesterday but another source hinted that Obasanjo informed the former US Secretary of State that the concerns of the international community would be taken into consideration.
Apr242007