IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 143 

Reaffirming the commitment of the House of Representatives to fortify relations with the people and Government of Nigeria and calling for the 

country to commit to a peaceful, credible, and timely electoral process. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 21, 2023 

Mr. ALLRED (for himself, Mr. JAMES, Ms. JACOBS, and Mr. SMITH of New 

Jersey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the commitment of the House of Representatives 

to fortify relations with the people and Government of 

Nigeria and calling for the country to commit to a peaceful, credible, and timely electoral process. 

Whereas Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with over 

215,000,000 people as of 2022 and is projected to grow 

to 375,000,000 by 2050 and become the third most populous country globally; 

Whereas Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa with an estimated gross domestic product of more than 

$1,050,000,000,000 as of 2021; 

Whereas the United States and Nigeria share strong economic and trade relations in which the United States reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Feb 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR143.IH HR143

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•HRES 143 IH 

mains the country’s largest foreign investor concentrated 

in petroleum, mining, and wholesale trade sectors; 

Whereas the Nigerian people and the Nigerian diaspora have 

contributed both to the United States and Nigeria 

through culture, business, and trade, and reaffirms their 

longstanding transatlantic ties; 

Whereas Nigeria’s electoral cycle scheduled in 2023 includes 

Presidential, parliamentary, State gubernatorial, and assembly races that has been described as ‘‘different from 

the six previous elections’’ since Nigeria’s transition from 

military to civilian rule in 1999; 

Whereas, as of 2023, the Independent National Electoral 

Commission (INEC) reported an ‘‘unprecedented surge’’ 

in voter registration, with a voters’ roll of nearly 

93,500,000 in which 40 percent of those registered are 

under the age of 35; 

Whereas youth civic engagement is paramount to cultivate 

the next generation of leaders in Nigeria as they navigate 

a path forward from economic challenges caused by the 

COVID–19 pandemic; 

Whereas, in the 2015 Presidential elections, an opposition 

party won the Presidency and control of the National Assembly for the first time in the country’s history through 

transparent elections; 

Whereas the subsequent general and gubernatorial elections 

in 2019 were fraught with last-minute delays, political infighting, and electoral offenses that undermined public 

confidence in the electoral process, INEC, and the Nigerian Government as a whole; 

Whereas the National Democratic Institute and International 

Republican Institute described in their International 


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•HRES 143 IH 

Election Observation Mission report that the 2019 general elections fell ‘‘significantly short of standards set in 

2015’’ and ‘‘demonstrated Nigerian political elites’ lack 

of commitment to opening space for new faces and new 

voices’’ for women and youth; 

Whereas civilian trust in the electoral process considerably 

waned with one-fourth of Nigerians reportedly trusting 

the INEC ‘‘somewhat’’ or ‘‘a lot’’ as of 2023; 

Whereas the country’s National Assembly passed a national 

reform act in 2022 aimed at improving the conduct of 

polls, including by enabling the electoral commission to 

determine necessary technological devices for transparency and perceived credibility for voters; 

Whereas Nigerian civil society organizations improve the 

preelection, election-day, and postelection environments 

by monitoring registration and voting processes, conducting voter education and peace messaging, and actively collaborating with INEC and international donor 

agencies through the Nigeria Civil Society Situation 

Room; 

Whereas, despite electoral and democratic reforms, insecurity 

and government corruption still remain key challenges; 

Whereas governments at the local, State, and Federal level 

and members across political parties continue to participate in high levels of corruption, including bribery, embezzlement, voter intimidation, and other numerous financial and nonmonetary crimes, thereby undermining 

the nature of its democratic institution; 

Whereas Nigeria is facing record levels of unemployment and 

high inflation as a consequence of the COVID–19 pandemic, unplanned migration, changes in weather patVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Feb 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR143.IH HR143

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•HRES 143 IH 

terns, violent insurgencies from extremist groups such as 

the Islamic State–West Africa Province and Boko 

Haram, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; 

Whereas, according to the International Crisis Group, armed 

groups killed more than 10,000 people and abducted 

more than 5,000 in about 3,000 incidents that occurred 

in at least 550 of the country’s 774 local government 

areas in 2022 alone; 

Whereas, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event 

Data Project, Nigerian military forces have been accused 

of perpetrating extrajudicial killings and war crimes, with 

over 400 civilians killed at the hands of security forces 

since 2018; 

Whereas attacks on electoral commissions, polling locations, 

and staff remain a serious concern where in 1 incident, 

3 gunmen bombed the headquarters of INEC in Nigeria’s 

southeastern Imo State that killed a police officer in December 2022; 

Whereas the Nigerian people expressed their country ‘‘going 

in the wrong direction’’ in response to the significant and 

compounded security crises; 

Whereas the U.S. Agency for International Development is 

supporting electoral processes, observation programs, and 

peace messaging, including by encouraging candidates to 

adhere to a peaceful and credible process in Nigeria; 

Whereas the United States underscored its commitment to 

expanding and deepening its partnership with African 

countries and working to bolster democracy and strengthen electoral processes during the 2021 Summit for Democracy and the 2022 United States-Africa Leaders 

Summit; and 


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•HRES 143 IH 

Whereas, on January 25, 2023, Secretary of State Antony 

Blinken announced visa restrictions on specific individuals involved in undermining the democratic process in a 

recent Nigerian election, and warned of similar sanctions 

for anyone who intends to undermine the 2023 elections: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) reaffirms its commitments to bolstering the 

3 enduring ties between the people and the Govern4 ments of the United States and Nigeria; 

5 (2) supports the continuing efforts of the Nige6 rian people, civil society, and members of the dias7 pora in exercising their undeniable rights to free, 

8 fair, credible, and transparent elections; 

9 (3) condemns the Islamic State–West Africa 

10 Province, Boko Haram, and other violent extremist 

11 groups and nonstate actors for egregious violations 

12 of human rights and impeding democratic institu13 tions, processes, and values; 

14 (4) calls on the Government of Nigeria to up15 hold its commitments to transparency, account16 ability, and good governance, including by— 

17 (A) ensuring citizens have unfettered ac18 cess to necessary voting materials and polling 

19 locations; 


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•HRES 143 IH 

1 (B) allowing elections to take place on time 

2 and to resolve any potential administrative 

3 issues in a timely fashion; 

4 (C) apprehending officials and others de5 termined to have participated in voter intimida6 tion and other forms of electoral criminal acts 

7 by enforcing already-existing laws, such as the 

8 Public Order Act, meant to curb impunity; 

9 (D) pursuing a comprehensive, inclusive, 

10 and expeditious electoral reform process; 

11 (E) improving coordination among stake12 holders and trusted partners to expand and 

13 deepen voter and civic education for current 

14 and future elections; 

15 (F) implementing robust fact checking 

16 mechanisms to curb the dissemination of misin17 formation, disinformation, and distorted nar18 ratives; and 

19 (G) investing in robust accountability 

20 mechanisms to hold security forces, including 

21 the police, military, and the Department of 

22 State Services, accountable for crimes com23 mitted that undermine elections; and 

24 (5) calls on the United States Government to— 


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•HRES 143 IH 

1 (A) provide the technical assistance needed 

2 to allow for strengthened electoral support, 

3 monitoring, and accountability in a timely fash4 ion; 

5 (B) collaborate with the Independent Na6 tional Electoral Commission to provide training 

7 and professional development for electoral work8 ers, political party agents, civil society organiza9 tions, and elected officials; and 

10 (C) utilize necessary diplomatic measures 

11 against those responsible for undermining the 

12 rule of law. 

Æ 


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