The European Union (EU) has denied it favoured President Muhammadu Buhari against other candidates during the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria.
This was stated by Santiago Fisas, the former Chief Observer of the 2015 EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM), and Member of the European Parliament.
Fisas said the EU was more interested in deepening democracy and the electoral process than who emerged as the president.
In his words: “The international community is not in favour of any candidate above others,”.
He, however, applauded former President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting defeat and sacrificing his personal ambition for the interest of Nigerians.
“The election was done in a proper way and I praise former President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting defeat.
“I think it has proved that he is a man of the state, that he put the interest of Nigeria before his own interest.
“That is an example in Nigeria and for many countries in Africa to follow, he accepted that he lost the election to another party,” he said.
Fisas said the Mission is in Nigeria to assess the present electoral reform process and the extent to which previous EU Election Observation Mission recommendations have been addressed.