III
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 151
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JULY 26 (legislative day, JULY 20), 1994
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Concerning the movement toward democracy in the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
Whereas the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and
the international community had been led to believe that
the presidential election held in Nigeria on June 12,
1993, would result in a return to full democratic civilian
rule in Nigeria;
Whereas General Ibrahim Babangida, the head of Nigeria’s
military government at the time of the June 12, 1993,
election, interrupted the release of the election results on
June 23, 1993, and later annulled the election, thereby
preventing a return to civilian rule;
Whereas the election process indicated that voters in Nige-
ria—a country with a population of approximately
90,000,000 individuals comprising 250 ethnic groups and
spread across 357,000 square miles—were expressing a
spirit of national unity that transcended ethnic, religious,
and regional allegiances;
•HCON 151 RFS
Whereas reported returns suggested that Moshood Abiola of
the Social Democratic Party was receiving a substantial
majority of the votes cast, leading the poll in 20 of the
30 states in Nigeria;
Whereas the annulment of the presidential elections resulted
in various forms of civil unrest, which in turn led to the
death of more than 100 individuals;
Whereas an interim government established by General
Babangida on August 27, 1993, and headed by Ernest
Shonekan, failed to win the support of the Nigerian peo-
ple;
Whereas General Sani Abacha took power on November 17,
1993, appointing an unelected provisional ruling council
to govern Nigeria;
Whereas General Abacha and the provisional ruling council,
upon taking power, stated their commitment to an early
return to civilian and democratic rule, and named several
prominent democratic political figures to serve in the gov-
ernment;
Whereas the political and economic conditions in Nigeria have
continued to deteriorate in the months since Abacha took
control of the country;
Whereas the faith of the Nigerian people in the viability of
the nation as a unified whole must be preserved, and the
balkanization of Nigeria guarded against;
Whereas the people of Nigeria have not accepted the continu-
ation of military rule and have courageously spoken out
in favor of the rapid return of democratic and civilian
rule;
Whereas on May 15, 1994, a broad coalition of Nigerian
democrats formed the National Democratic Coalition call-
•HCON 151 RFS
ing upon the military government to step down in favor
of the winner of the June 12, 1993, election;
Whereas the confidence of the Nigerian people and the inter-
national community in the provisional ruling council’s
commitment to the restoration of democracy can only be
established by a sustained demonstration of a commit-
ment to human rights, due process, and the return of ci-
vilian rule;
Whereas the United States would prefer to have a relation-
ship with Nigeria based upon cooperation and mutual
support but cannot, and will not, condone or overlook the
denial of democratic civilian rule—against the clear wish-
es of the Nigerian people—by the provisional ruling coun-
cil or any other body in Nigeria;
Whereas the lack of support from the Nigerian authorities on
drug trafficking issues has recently forced the United
States to place Nigeria on the list of countries penalized
for failure to seriously address the narcotics proliferation
issue;
Whereas continuing credible reports of widespread corruption
and questionable business practices in the Nigerian Gov-
ernment, and the lack of cooperation in addressing these
problems by the Nigerian Government, further under-
mines Nigeria’s credibility in the international commu-
nity;
Whereas the steps taken by the international community in
response to the refusal of the Nigerian military to relin-
quish power serve both to encourage the people of Nige-
ria in their legitimate struggle for democracy and to limit
the ability of the military to entrench its rule; and
•HCON 151 RFS
Whereas Nigeria’s leadership role on the African continent
and its international influence will be severely com-
promised by its failure to rejoin the world community of
democratic nations: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) continues to support the Nigerian people in
their commitment to unity and democracy as evi-
denced by their participation in the June 12, 1993,
presidential election in the Federal Republic of Nige-
ria, and in their subsequent insistence on the return
to full civilian and democratic rule;
(2) endorses the steps taken by President Clin-
ton and the Administration—specifically the restric-
tions on assistance to agencies of the Nigerian Gov-
ernment, the suspension of military cooperation be-
tween the United States and Nigeria, the restric-
tions on travel to the United States by officials of
the Nigerian military regime, and the insistence that
full normalization of United States—Nigeria rela-
tions depends upon the restoration of civilian demo-
cratic rule—to demonstrate United States opposition
to the annulment of such election and to encourage
the restoration of fully democratic and civilian rule
in Nigeria;
•HCON 151 RFS
(3) urges the Administration to continue all ac-
tions designed to encourage the restoration of civil-
ian rule in Nigeria, especially the restriction on trav-
el to the United States by officials of the military re-
gime, until concrete and significant steps have been
taken toward a genuine transition to a democrat-
ically elected civilian government in Nigeria;
(4) encourages the Administration to explore
additional measures that might be taken, either uni-
laterally, in cooperation with other nations, or
through multilateral institutions such as the Inter-
national Monetary Fund and the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development, to construc-
tively encourage the restoration of democratic and
civilian rule in Nigeria;
(5) requests that United States officials, both
in the United States and in Nigeria, consistently re-
iterate United States insistence upon the rapid re-
turn of civilian and democratic rule in Nigeria, and
that United States Government agencies such as the
United States Information Agency and the Agency
for International Development, as well as publicly
supported agencies such as the National Endowment
for Democracy, should provide support for activities
•HCON 151 RFS
(D) positively respond to United States
and other international efforts to constructively
encourage the restoration of democracy in
Nigeria.
Passed the House of Representatives July 25, 1994.
Attest:
DONNALD K. ANDERSON,
Clerk.