[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 40 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 40

  Concerning the movement toward democracy in the Federal Republic of 
                                Nigeria.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 15, 1995

Mr. Payne of New Jersey submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
     which was referred to the Committee on International 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 Nigeria--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;
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 people;
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 government;
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 continuation 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 calling 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 international community in 
        the provisional ruling council's commitment to the restoration of 
        democracy can only be established by a sustained demonstration of a 
        commitment to human rights, due process, and the return of civilian 
        rule;
Whereas the United States would prefer to have a relationship 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 
        wishes of the Nigerian people--by the provisional ruling council 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 again 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 Government, and the lack of 
        cooperation in addressing these problems by the Nigerian Government, 
        further undermines Nigeria's credibility in the international community;
Whereas the steps taken by the international community in response to the 
        refusal of the Nigerian military to relinquish power serve both to 
        encourage the people of Nigeria in their legitimate struggle for 
        democracy and to limit the ability of the military to entrench its rule; 
        and
Whereas Nigeria's leadership role on the African continent and its international 
        influence will be severely compromised 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 evidenced by their 
        participation in the June 12, 1993, presidential election in 
        the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and in their subsequent 
        insistence on the return to full civilian and democratic rule;
            (2) endorses the steps taken by President Clinton and the 
        Administration--specifically the restrictions on assistance to 
        agencies of the Nigerian Government, the suspension of military 
        cooperation between the United States and Nigeria, the 
        restrictions on travel to the United States by officials of the 
        Nigerian military regime, and the insistence that full 
        normalization of United States-Nigeria relations depends upon 
        the restoration of civilian democratic 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;
            (3) urges the Administration to continue all actions 
        designed to encourage the restoration of civilian rule in 
        Nigeria, especially the restriction on travel to the United 
        States by officials of the military regime, until concrete and 
        significant steps have been taken toward a genuine transition 
        to a democratically elected civilian government in Nigeria;
            (4) encourages the Administration to explore additional 
        measures that might be taken, either unilaterally, in 
        cooperation with other nations, or through multilateral 
        institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the 
        International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to 
        constructively 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 reiterate United 
        States insistence upon the rapid return 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 aimed at 
        strengthening democratic forces and democratic institutions in 
        Nigeria;
            (6) condemns the arrests and imprisonment by the Nigerian 
        military authorities of Chief Abiola and other political 
        leaders and democracy advocates, as well as the new 
        restrictions imposed on freedom of expression; and
            (7) urges General Abacha and the provisional ruling council 
        in Nigeria, in order to maintain the viability of Nigeria and 
        restore political stability and to avert the further 
        deterioration of relations between Nigeria and the United 
        States, to--
                    (A) fully restore freedom of the press, with access 
                to all contemporary political and electoral 
                information, fully respect human rights, and fully 
                restore the independence and authority of the judiciary 
                in Nigeria;
                    (B) immediately release Chief Abiola and the other 
                political leaders and human rights activists who have 
                been arrested or detained;
                    (C) decisively move to resolve the political crisis 
                in Nigeria by setting up a rapid timetable for the full 
                restoration of civilian and democratic rule, 
                unencumbered by the military; and
                    (D) positively respond to United States and other 
                international efforts to constructively encourage the 
                restoration of democracy in Nigeria.

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