The United States (US) Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, called President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reaffirm his commitment to strengthening the relationship between the two countries. In a statement on Tuesday, the spokesperson for Secretary Blinken, Matthew Miller, said that Blinken emphasised his commitment to partner with the incoming administration to further deepen the partnership between the United States and Nigeria. “Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke this morning with Nigerian President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu to emphasize his continued commitment to further strengthening the U.S.-Nigeria relationship with the incoming administration,” Miller said. Miller added that Secretary Blinken and the president-elect discussed the importance of inclusive leadership that represents all Nigerians, continued comprehensive security cooperation, and reforms to support economic growth. He also noted that Tinubu and Blinken spoke about the value of inclusive leadership that speaks for all Nigerians, ongoing comprehensive security cooperation, and economic growth reforms. According to him, the US Secretary stated that the cooperation between the United States and Nigeria is based on shared interests and strong people-to-people ties. He added that Blinken noted the ties between both countries should continue to strengthen under President-elect Tinubu’s tenure. The development comes days after the United States government, through its secretary of state, imposed visa restrictions on specific individuals who undermined the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 elections. Blinken stated, “Today, I’m announcing that we’ve taken steps to impose visa restrictions on specific Nigerian citizens for subverting the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 election cycle. According to Blinken, the US government’s decision to restrict visas shows its ongoing commitment to helping Nigerian efforts to build democracy and the rule of law.
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