Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on whether adequate preparations are being made in Nigeria for holding free, fair, timely and national elections in February 2015.

British ministers have engaged regularly with their Nigerian counterparts to convey our expectation that Nigeria’s presidential elections will be free, fair and peaceful. When I met the Nigerian Foreign Minister in September I spoke of the need to strengthen institutions in Nigeria to enhance the democratic process. The UK government continues to support Nigeria in ensuring adequate electoral mechanisms and observation are put in place. This includes through DFID’s Deepening Democracy in Nigeria 2 programme. At £35m over four years, this is the largest bilateral programme supporting democratisation in Nigeria. It has a major focus on working with Nigerian partners to deliver credible and peaceful elections.