Biden was told by the APC PCC that Chimamanda’s letter was inspired by the monumental loss of her tribesman, Peter Obi
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of Nigeria’s ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked US President, Joe Biden to disregard a letter sent to the White House by revered Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie.
The novelist, in an open letter, published in The Atlantic on Thursday, April 6 and addressed to the US President, wrote that a spokesperson for the US Department of State had acknowledged the frustration expressed over the conduct of the 2023 polls.
She, however, took exception to the fact that the US envoy labelled the process as a “competitive election” that “represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy.”
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The renowned writer also suggested that American intelligence displayed a lack of understanding of what took place during the election with the statement.
Chimamanda further said she would have accepted the result of the election, if the technology deployed guarded the sanctity of votes cast.
She wrote: “I supported Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, and hoped he would win, as polls predicted, but I was prepared to accept any result, because we had been assured that technology would guard the sanctity of votes,” she said.
Reacting to the letter, the APC PCC Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga in a terse reply on Twitter on Friday, April 7, urged Biden to trash the letter once it is received.
“Dear President Joe Biden, please just trash the open letter by Chimamanda on Nigeria’s election once it gets to your desk. She wrote fiction, inspired by the monumental loss of her tribesman Peter Obi,” he tweeted.
Prior to the development, LP candidate, Peter Obi had urged his supporters to shun ethnic and religious sentiments, saying no one should support him on such bases.