In preparation for Nigeria's general elections in 2023, the former president, HE Dr Ernest Bai Koroma, left Freetown on Saturday, December 3, 2022, to go to Abuja with other members of the West Africa Elders Forum (WAEF). The Mission is slated to occur from December 4 to December 7 in 2022.
The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation founded the West African Elders Forum (WAEF), which focuses on supporting democracy, resolving disputes, and fostering peace. The Abuja Mission advances the goals of WAEF, with a focus on averting election-related unrest, fostering a credible election outcome, and fostering a peaceful transition.
“The decline of democracy and good governance and the threat to peaceful transitions in West Africa demand proactive engagements when it matters. Nigeria is too big and too important to be allowed to slide back on its democratic path. It is imperative that we continue to dialogue with key stakeholders in pursuit of peaceful, free and credible elections,” said former President Koroma.
Nigerian Forum Elders will interact with significant players as the nation gets ready for the 2023 presidential elections. The former president of Sierra Leone stressed that "it is our desire that Nigeria would create an abiding electoral model for other nations to imitate."