The United States sees a new start in relations with Nigeria with a visit to Washington on Wednesday by President Umaru Yar�Adua after a diplomatic pause following a �deeply flawed� election, a senior US official said.
Yar�Adua left Nigeria on Wednesday for his first meeting with President George W. Bush after winning the April election, which was deemed �not credible� by international observers because of widespread violence and fraud.
�We think that this represents the beginning of our new relationship, which will signal closer relations,� Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Todd J. Moss, told the State Department Web site.
�The April vote was billed as a landmark for Africa�s top oil producer, marking the first transition from one civilian president to another since it won independence from Britain in 1960.
�But ballot-stuffing, intimidation and violence were so widespread that international and local observers said the results were not credible,� he said.
According to Moss, Bush invited Yar�Adua to the White House after the Nigerian leader agreed to address concerns raised by Washington over the election.
These include electoral reform, non-interference with the tribunals handling election petitions, stepping up the fight against corruption, security in the oil-producing Niger Delta and free-market economic reforms.