Visa Ban: Frank urges US to include election riggers’ family members

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Timi Frank, has urged the United States to include the wives and children of people involved in election misconduct to its visa ban.

Frank, in a statement on Friday, was responding to the announcement by the United States that it would place a visa ban on some Nigerian politicians involved in the rigging of the 2019 general elections.

According to him, some military personnel brazenly took on an active role in the manipulation of the 2019 electoral process to achieve “predetermined objectives.”

He said such officers should therefore not be left unpunished.

Frank also appealed to the United Kingdom, the European Union and other advanced democratic nations that had made similar promises before the elections to imitate the American government.

He added that the US could also make public the names and political parties of those affected as a deterrent in future elections.

The former APC spokesman urged the US, UK, and EU to keep their eyes on the judges handling cases in the election petitions tribunal and the Supreme Court, particularly the presidential election, to ensure that those found wanting were sanctioned with the visa ban.

He also called on the judiciary to take note of the US visa ban on Nigerian politicians and act accordingly in the ongoing election petitions cases.

Frank said, “I must commend the US for living up to expectation, as promised before the 2019 general elections. The visa ban on yet to be named persons has clearly shown that the outcome of the last presidential election was manipulated.

“More importantly, the international community should show more interest in the ongoing election tribunal cases in Nigeria, most especially the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal and the Supreme Court.

“The US government should not hesitate to sanction judges who dare compromise the wishes of the people as freely expressed during the 2019 general elections. It is also important that the military officers, who took part in rigging the said election, should not go free.

“They should be banned also to sound a note of warning to other military officers.”

He challenged politicians of the ruling party, in particular, to apply for US visas.