Secretary General visits Nigeria

Secretary General Leissner held a press conference together with Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. Viola Onwuliri in Abuja. In the conference, the Secretary General reaffirmed the Community’s commitment to support Nigeria’s democracy.  In light of Nigeria’s involvement within the Community of Democracies, she met with representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who have been leading electoral reforms in Nigeria, and discussed the possibility of the Commission’s engagement within the Community’s Working Group on Elections.  
 
The Secretary General also met with the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina. The Minister expressed her interest in partnering with the Community on the Working Group on Women and Democracy as part of the Ministry’s commitment to promote and support women’s participation in all political activities and governance in Nigeria.  
 
In order to foster relations with civil society in the country, the Secretary General held discussions with the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), discussing potential future partnerships. CISLAC is a non-governmental advocacy organization on legislative and policy matters in Nigeria.
 
Secretary General Leissner’s visit to Nigeria and the meetings were held in preparation for the country’s upcoming term of Presidency of the Community, to begin in 2015.