NIGERIA: YAR'ADUA SAYS REFORM WILL CONTINUE,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000855 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12598: DECL: 05/01/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: YAR'ADUA SAYS REFORM WILL CONTINUE, ELECTORAL LAW AND PRACTICE WILL BE REVIEWED FROM TOP TO BOTTOM ABUJA 00000855 001.2 OF 002 Classified by Ambassador John Campbell for reasons 15 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: In a meeting May 2, Nigeria President- elect Yar'adua affirmed that the reforms instituted under President Obasanjo will continue. He also said that election law and practice will be reviewed from the ground up. He criticized Nigerian political culture with its "winner take all" approach, but stopped short of characterizing the 2007 elections as lacking credibility. He professed himself "delighted" with the Department's April 27 statement, and accepted with alacrity U.S. assistance to improve the conduct of future elections. He said he is reaching out to the opposition through intermediaries. He referred to himself as the "head" of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, perhaps thereby distancing himself from President Obasanjo. He reaffirmed the importance of the U.S./Nigeria bilateral relationship. See Comment, beginning Para 10. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Present with the President-elect was U.S. Ambassador to the U.S. George Obiozor, current Minister of Commerce Maddibo, who characterized himself as the President-elect's "coordinator" or chief of staff, and Kaduna Governor Makarfi. I was accompanied by the Japanese Ambassador and the Canadian High Commissioner. The President-elect was forty-five minutes late returning from the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission where he had received the certification of his election. During the waiting period, Andy Uba, Governor-elect of Anambra state and long-time Villa denizen was present. On departure, we were greeted by former Vice Presidential candidate Babagana Kingibe and PDP Chairman Ahmadu Ali. ¶3. (C) I made the following points to the President- elect: -- With flawed elections, it is especially important that the election tribunals and the relevant parts of the judicial system promptly and credibly address election disputes. -- We will want to hear government ideas as to how to reform the elections process so as to ensure credible elections in the future. -- Dialogue between the government and the opposition is essential. -- Violence is always unacceptable. -- The importance of the continuation of the current government's reform program. The Canadian High Commissioner and the Japanese Ambassador endorsed these same points. In addition, the Japanese Ambassador invited the President elect to visit Japan in a September time frame. ¶4. (C) In response, Yar'adua said that he had seen the Department's April 28 statement, and that he was "delighted" with it. He said that his administration would review the entire elections process, starting with the constitution but including the electoral law, the structure of INEC, and the way elections are carried out in the states. He welcomed any and all U.S. assistance in that endeavor. He affirmed the importance of fast, credible action by the election tribunals in addressing electoral disputes. But, he continued, many of the current delays are built into the process by statute. That's one of the reasons why the entire process must be reviewed from top to bottom. As for domestic criticism of the elections, he observed that much of it is motivated by the underdevelopment of Nigeria's political culture: "People only accept election results when they win." ¶5. (C) With respect to outreach to the opposition, he said he is working through intermediaries. After all, he said, he could not simply telephone Gen. Buhari ABUJA 00000855 002.2 OF 002 directly. He said there has as yet been no response to his outreach efforts, but he hoped there would be soon. He also affirmed the unacceptability of violence. ¶6. (C) Yar'adua confirmed that the current government's reform program would continue on track. With respect to legislation currently before the National Assembly, such as the Fiscal Responsibility Act or the Due Process Act, if they failed to pass before May 29, his government would ensure that they were re-introduced when the National Assembly reconvenes. He acknowledged that the current mood in the National Assembly is "strange," in large part because most current members will not be sitting in the next session, raising the possibility that little legislation would be passed before May 29. He also referred to the limitations that a Federal system imposes on the ability of the Federal government to implement reforms at the State level. ¶7. (C) Yar'adua referred to himself deliberately and more than once as the "head" of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. He may have been signaling his intention to distance himself from President Obasanjo, who is popularly characterized the "head of the party for life" because of his position as Chairman of the party's Board of Trustees. ¶8. (C) On the way out I had a word with the "coordinator" on the May 1 hostage taking in the Delta to affirm our support for the government's policy of restraint in its response in previous hostage takings. ¶9. (C) Comment: As at our previous meeting, Yar'adua was articulate, thoughtful, and displayed beautiful manners. My Japanese and Canadian colleagues, who had not previously met him, were highly impressed. One commented on the disconnect between the attractive qualities of the person and the sordid election process by which he was assuming office. Yar'adua seems committed to electoral reform - perhaps the reason for his enthusiasm for the Department's April 28 statement. Yar'adua affirms his outreach to the opposition. Nevertheless, many of his public statements have been anything but conciliatory, and Gen. Buhari was dismissive of them when I met with him on April 27. The others present at the meeting, as well as those we greeted before and after, are a bewildering collection of PDP party stalwarts ranging from Andy Uba, whose reputation is not salubrious to Kingibe, who has played little role in domestic politics over the past several years but was an important figure in Nigeria's Darfur efforts; he was also briefly a candidate for the PDP presidential nomination in 2006. The "coordinator" observed that he had lived in Los Angeles for twelve years, and had once had an American wife. Yar'adua gave every appearance of being in good health. However, the entire top of his left hand was swollen and very dark in color, as it was when I met with him previously. 10 (C) Comment Continued; Originally, I had invited Yar'adua to lunch with the Canadian High Commissioner and the Japanese Ambassador, neither of whom had ever met him. The lunch had been fixed for May 2 at 12:30 pm. On May 1, George Obiozor said that the President- elect would prefer if the three of us could call on him at his temporary residence at the Villa, which we did. That is why my two ambassadorial colleagues were also present. End Comment. CAMPBELL