Opposition parties on Thursday warned the military against succumbing to pressure from unnamed politicians to compromise the 2023 general elections.
The Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Labour Party and the New Nigeria Peoples Party unanimously admonished the armed forces to operate within the confines of the law and stick to its standard operating procedure.
The ruling All Progressives Congress on the other hand called for a probe of the allegation that some people were mounting pressure on the military to undermine the forthcoming polls, describing the claim as weighty.
The parties’ warning came on the heels of the comments by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, that the military and other security agencies are always facing constant pressure from politicians to compromise elections.
Irabor, who said this in response to questions from journalists at the 61st session of the State House Ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, however, assured Nigerians that the military would remain neutral.
According to him, military personnel face pressure from politicians through inducements, but the armed forces, he noted, would remain apolitical as it is taking measures to ensure professionalism in compliance with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to maintain neutrality.
President Buhari, while addressing over 300 military officers during the Chief of Army Staff’s Annual Conference 2022 in Sokoto on Monday, directed the Nigerian Armed Forces to remain apolitical during the 2023 general elections and limit their operations within the constitutional framework.
But Irabor in his response said, “Of course, there will always be pressure from all quarters wanting to induce security forces, not just the military, the security force and the police. And that’s what criminal enterprise is all about. That is what something wrong is all about.
‘’But what makes the difference is the professional approach to dealing with those issues. And that’s what, as the military, we are committed to doing.”
The Defence chief further revealed that personnel are being trained to be more professional even as the rules of engagement and standard operating procedure have been codified to be used as training and reference material before, during and after the elections.
He noted, “Now, this is why we have ramped up our training in that regard; sensitisation-a lot of engagement across the formations and units is being undertaken. And then, we have articulated the code of conduct for all our personnel, which has been done and distributed.
“So what should they act before, during and after the elections; these are being codified in the SOP that had been issued to them. So, it remains the duty of the commanders to ensure that the directive, as indicated and the contents of the SOP is adhered to by every personnel in the armed forces.”
Therefore, he urged Nigerians to “cease from worrying” and rather trust and engage others to trust that the military will “keep faith to these directives.”
Explaining the military’s role in the forthcoming elections, the CDS noted that it would not spearhead security operations but would only assist the police.
PDP reacts
Commenting on Irabor’s statement, the spokesman, PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan, urged the military to ensure that its rank and file adhered to the rule of law.
He said it was important for the armed forces to guarantee a credible poll in addition to its duty of protecting the territorial integrity of the country.
‘’Our campaign council urges the military hierarchy to ensure that the rank and file operate within the confines of the rules of carrying out the responsibility of internal security. What is important is for the military to guarantee a credible poll in our nation. They have the duty of protecting the territorial integrity of our nation in conformity with the laws,’’ the ex-PDP spokesman noted.
Ologbondiyan berated the unnamed politicians mounting pressure on the military, saying they should rather engage the electorate and sell their manifesto to the people.
He stated, ‘’The politicians who are putting pressure on the military should go and engage the people who will vote, they should go and sell their promises if they will buy them; they should stop mounting pressure on the military, they should face the electorate.’’
“If you look at the political climate of our nation today, you will agree with me that the presidential candidate of our party, Atiku Abubakar, who is campaigning and also talking to Nigerians is marketing policies, promises that he plans to implement when he is sworn in as President on May 29. As such, we counsel other politicians to stop mounting pressure on the military,’’ he warned.
The factional National Secretary of the SDP, Alfa Mohammed, said it is uncharitable for anyone to attempt to compromise the 2023 election, insisting that such a move should be met with stiff resistance by Nigerians.
Stating that Nigerians would oppose any plot to truncate democracy, he said: “We are where we are today because the military truncated our democracy. The unitary type of government that we have today is the type of government in which power is concentrated in the centre caused by the military. So, the military is not an alternative; they should allow us to develop ourselves.
“All we need from the military is to protect the election. We will not take it, Nigerians will not take it, they will resist it. We commend the chief of defence staff for speaking out, but he should go further by exposing those behind it so that action can be taken (against them).’’
Speaking in the same vein, the Labour Party spokesman, Abayomi Arabambi, declared that the people would not take kindly to any ploy to truncate democracy in the country.
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He added, “What this means is that rather than Labour Party or PDP to win, they will prefer allowing the military to disrupt (electoral) process and take over. Thank God that the chief of defence staff has alerted Nigerians. I want to assure them that the people will resist anything of such.
‘’It was in this country that former President Goodluck Jonathan lost an election and called to congratulate the winner. So, on no account must anybody do otherwise. It is no secret that this administration has performed woefully. We implore the military to just comport themselves.’’
Linking the attacks on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s facilities to the alleged plot against the forthcoming polls, the NNPP spokesman, Ladipo Johnson observed that Irabor’s expose indicated that some elements were working to jeopardize the election.
He called on the military to remain vigilant against all anti-people forces while maintaining its neutrality during the election.
‘’We thank the military and INEC for remaining resolute to ensure we have a free, fair and credible election. We urge them to continue to remain neutral because, without it, our democracy will be in danger. It is obvious we have unscrupulous people who don’t care about the will of the people. It is just about power and the money they can take from the commonwealth of Nigeria,’’ Johnson stated.
APC speaks