South Africa Urges Africa To Emulate Professional Conduct Of Nigeria’s Elections

South Africa has urged other African countries to emulate the “professionalism involved in the conduct” of Nigeria’s 2015 general elections. Ambassador Mguni Lulu, the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday. Lulu said the conduct of the just concluded elections in the country indicated that “Nigeria has come of age and is a leading country in the continent. “The leadership shown by President Goodluck Jonathan when he congratulated the president-elect goes a long way to show that Africa is a continent of the future. “The introduction of the Card Readers, in spite of the teething problems, minimised tension, created confidence in the people and strengthened their belief in democracy.” Speaking on the bilateral relations shared by both countries, the envoy said the trade volume stood at 43 billion rand (approximately N7.06 billion) annually. He said both countries shared excellent bilateral relations, adding that such relations would help boost the level of friendship between citizens. Lulu said: “The trade relations favour Nigeria more because we buy a lot of oil from your country. “Nigeria imports from South Africa are cars, car parts, food produce, just to mention a few while we have a lot in terms of technology. “The relations between our two countries have a chance to grow to levels higher than before because Nigeria is a strategic partner.” Lulu also expressed the readiness of his government to share its technological expertise with Nigeria to develop the country’s automobile sector and promote the economy of both parties.