•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 as-
sembly 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 As-
sembly 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 in-
fighting, and electoral offenses that undermined public 
confidence in the electoral process, INEC, and the Nige-
rian 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 gen-
eral 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 trans-
parency and perceived credibility for voters; 
Whereas Nigerian civil society organizations improve the 
preelection, election-day, and postelection environments 
by monitoring registration and voting processes, con-
ducting voter education and peace messaging, and ac-
tively 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 partici-
pate in high levels of corruption, including bribery, em-
bezzlement, voter intimidation, and other numerous fi-
nancial 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 pan-
demic, unplanned migration, changes in weather pat-
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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 De-
cember 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 strength-
en electoral processes during the 2021 Summit for De-
mocracy 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 individ-
uals 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) reaffirms its commitments to bolstering the 
enduring ties between the people and the Govern-
ments of the United States and Nigeria; 
(2) supports the continuing efforts of the Nige-
rian people, civil society, and members of the dias-
pora in exercising their undeniable rights to free, 
fair, credible, and transparent elections; 
(3) condemns the Islamic State–West Africa 
Province, Boko Haram, and other violent extremist 
groups and nonstate actors for egregious violations 
of human rights and impeding democratic institu-
tions, processes, and values; 
(4) calls on the Government of Nigeria to up-
hold its commitments to transparency, account-
ability, and good governance, including by— 
(A) ensuring citizens have unfettered ac-
cess to necessary voting materials and polling 
locations; 
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•HRES 143 IH 
(B) allowing elections to take place on time 
and to resolve any potential administrative 
issues in a timely fashion; 
(C) apprehending officials and others de-
termined to have participated in voter intimida-
tion and other forms of electoral criminal acts 
by enforcing already-existing laws, such as the 
Public Order Act, meant to curb impunity; 
(D) pursuing a comprehensive, inclusive, 
and expeditious electoral reform process; 
(E) improving coordination among stake-
holders and trusted partners to expand and 
deepen voter and civic education for current 
and future elections; 
(F) implementing robust fact checking 
mechanisms to curb the dissemination of misin-
formation, disinformation, and distorted nar-
ratives; and 
(G) investing in robust accountability 
mechanisms to hold security forces, including 
the police, military, and the Department of 
State Services, accountable for crimes com-
mitted that undermine elections; and 
(5) calls on the United States Government to— 
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•HRES 143 IH 
(A) provide the technical assistance needed 
to allow for strengthened electoral support, 
monitoring, and accountability in a timely fash-
ion; 
(B) collaborate with the Independent Na-
tional Electoral Commission to provide training 
and professional development for electoral work-
ers, political party agents, civil society organiza-
tions, and elected officials; and 
(C) utilize necessary diplomatic measures 
against those responsible for undermining the 
rule of law. 
Æ 
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