SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERATION CALLS ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 000191 SIPDIS AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE PASS TO AMEMBASSY MALABO E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/18 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR OVIP NI SUBJECT: SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERATION CALLS ON AMBASSADOR TO DISCUSS STATE OF NATION CLASSIFIED BY: Robin R. Sanders, Ambassaador, State, U.S. Embassy Abuja; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation Ahmed called on Ambassador Sanders on February 16 to discuss the state of the nation. Ahmed said the domestic political situation in Nigeria was "very sensitive." Ahmed raised the possibility of Jonathan traveling outside the country and the Ambassador asked constitutionally who would lead the country on such occasions, since Jonathan as the sole executor was without a Vice President. The Ambassador said that A/S Johnnie Carson had had good meetings during his February 6-10 visit to Lagos and Abuja, with the exception of the meeting with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Maurice Iwu. She also warned that the USG could not continue to provide elections support to INEC or Nigeria's election process if Iwu were still in office when his term expires in June 2010. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Yayale Ahmed called on Ambassador Sanders on February 16 to discuss the current state of the nation as well as the status of U.S.-Nigeria relations. The Economic Counselor was note taker. Ahmed referred to Acting President Goodluck Jonathan's designation as Acting President during the previous week and said the domestic political situation "was very sensitive right now." The Ambassador turned to the proposed U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission (BNC) and said the USG was still looking at the possibility of late March for a possible BNC signing. ¶3. (C) Ahmed raised the possibility of Jonathan traveling outside the country and the Ambassador asked constitutionally who would lead the country on such occasions, since Jonathan was now the sole executor of Nigeria and was without a Vice President. Ahmed acknowledged that this was a problem, noting that it was not even clear who would lead a Federal Executive Committee (cabinet) meeting when the Acting President was temporarily called out of the meeting. ¶4. (C) The Ambassador noted that A/S Carson had had good meetings during his February 6-10 visit to Lagos and Abuja. However, the meeting with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Maurice Iwu was unproductive as Iwu showed no signs of respect for election transparency. A/S Carson told Iwu he had failed to perform in the February 6 Anambra state elections. The Ambassador warned that the USG could not continue to provide elections support to INEC or Nigeria's election process if Iwu is still in office when his term expires in June 2010. The Ambassador explained that logistically, if INEC could not handle a small state election, it is questionable how they could handle a national election covering 36 states and federal territory. Recognizing this, the USG would do everything it could between now and June to help on technical issues, such as, making the voter registry more transparent and accurate. ¶5. (C) The SGF said he had about 14 ministers that were willing to work on the political situation in a constructive manner, and they were looking at options on how to address the issue of Jonathan's absence from the country if he had to travel. Ahmed added that he expected the next two months in Nigeria to be very politically delicate with a lot of challenges to overcome. ¶6. (C) COMMENT. The SGF is known to be pragmatic and seems to have a small collection of like-minded ministers working with him on the crisis. SANDERS