http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/176544-nigerian-military-chiefs-pledged-support-elections-days-prompting-shift-apc.html


Nigerian military chiefs gave a clear
commitment to provide security for
elections earlier billed for February 14
and 28, just three days before issuing
a warning to the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC,
to shift the polls or risk losing
security cover, the chairman of the
main opposition party, All
Progressives Congress, APC, said
Monday.
The APC accused the military of
insincerity and bias in its decision to
instigate INEC to postpone the
elections on claim of insecurity.
The APC National Chairman, John
Oyegun, who addressed a press
conference at the party’s national
secretariat in Abuja, said the top
leadership of Nigeria’s armed forces
had assured political parties of their
readiness to provide security for the
general elections on their original
dates.
The military hierarchy made the pledge
at a meeting with the political parties
just three days before writing to the
Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, to warn that they
cannot guarantee security if polls go
ahead as planned, Mr. Oyegun said.
“At the occasion, the Chief of
Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, an Air
Chief Marshal, gave assurances of
the Armed Forces’ preparedness for
the elections. According to him “even
though we are busy in the North East,
we also have capabilities across the
nation.”
Mr. Oyegun said Mr. Badeh also
admitted that the role of the military
is merely to support the police in
providing security during elections.
Mr. Oyegun quoted the Chief of Army
Staff, Kenneth Minimah, a Major
General, as saying “we are aware of
the need for security, before, during
and after the elections. We will deploy
across the states of the federation in
areas we discover that have capacity
for violence. We are prepared to
ensure we have peaceful elections.”
The APC leader also quoted the Chief
of Air Staff, Air Marshall Adesola
Amosun as saying “we have
commenced the air lift of the
materials needed for the elections,
starting from Abuja. We will continue
with the elections.”
While announcing the shift of the
elections last Saturday, INEC
chairman, Attahiru Jega, said the
commission was forced to reschedule
the election after receiving
correspondence from the office of the
National Security Adviser and the
same military chiefs that they cannot
guarantee security at the original
dates.
Mr. Oyegun asked why security
information changed 72 hours after
the Service Chiefs announced
readiness to provide security for the
elections on February 2.
“However, only 3 days later on Friday
February 6, these same Service Chiefs
wrote to INEC, in a letter, which by all
practical purposes could be described
as blackmail, saying that they would
no longer be able to provide security
for the elections? What happened in
those 72 hours that brought about
this complete volte-face?” he asked.
Military in alliance with PDP
Mr. Oyegun recalled that at the
National Council of States meeting
last Thursday, INEC reaffirmed its
readiness and commitment to hold the
elections as scheduled.
He added that although the Service
Chiefs briefed the Council that they
had security concerns, the consensus
of opinion at the meeting was that
elections should go ahead nationwide
except in the 14 local government
areas identified as problematic by the
security chiefs.
“After all, it was recalled that in
1999, elections were not held in
Bayelsa State because of the
activities of militants at the time,
but it held all over the country.
“The activities of Boko Haram were
clearly limited to 14 Local
Governments in three States out of
774 Local Governments in 36 States
and FCT. How would this then warrant
the blanket postponement of elections
in the entire country?
“Considering all factors building up
to this postponement, it is difficult
not to come to the obvious conclusion
that the Military High Command is in
an unholy and dangerous alliance with
the ruling party, the PDP, to subvert
the democratic will of the people.
“We have no doubts that the letter
sent to the INEC, warning it not to
proceed with the elections, emanated
from the Service Chiefs’ hands of
Esau and President Jonathan’s voice
of Jacob,” Mr. Oyegun said.
He also wondered why only the PDP and
its supporters are celebrating the
postponement.
Mr. Oyegun said at the Council of
State meeting, all the former Heads
of State in attendance spoke against
the postponement except in the 14
LGAs and all the former Chief
Justices’ also concurred.
He added that every non-PDP Governor
present in the meeting spoke against
postponement.
The APC Chairman said the greatest
threat to Nigeria’s democracy at
present is the way the ruling party
has compromised the leadership of the
Nigerian military to serve the
personal agenda of Mr. Jonathan.
“This is a dangerous game,” he said.
He also recalled a recent court
judgment in Sokoto, which ruled that
the military had no role in the
electoral process.
“What happened with this
postponement is that Service Chiefs
simply vetoed a democratic process on
the directive of President Jonathan.
We know what politicization is doing to
our once proud military institution.
“We are aware that the Presidency
has forwarded a secret memo to all
commanders of divisions and
battalions of Nigerian Army for a 3-
day strategy meeting in Kaduna from
today on how to use the military to
intimidate voters in APC States to rig
election in favour of President
Jonathan,” he said.
Mr. Oyegun also said recent
revelations about the role of the
military in Ekiti elections is
demonstrable proof of how far the
President Goodluck Jonathan’s
government will go to compromise the
military as an institution.
Postponement, a booby trap
The National Chairman of the APC said
the Service Chiefs’ letter to INEC
demanding a postponement for “at
least” six weeks is a “booby trap”. He
said embedded in that phrase “at
least” is a window to push for
another postponement.
“It is clear however, that any
further postponement can only lead
to a constitutional crisis. The
constitution demands at least 30 days
before the handover date of May 29th.
“We have strong suspicions but hope
this postponement is not part of an
agenda to create a constitutional
crisis in the country. We are just
recently recovering from the crisis
precipitated by the political crisis of
1993. We cannot afford another,” he
said.
Mr. Oyegun said that beyond the
postponement and intimidation of
INEC, the government is planning
other schemes.
“We are aware of plans for worse
intimidation in the days ahead. We are
aware of plans to intimidate and
orchestrate arrest of our leaders
across the country on frivolous
grounds.
“We are now aware of how PDP used
intimidation and arrest to rig the last
Governorship election in Ekiti State.
We are aware that this is the plan of
the PDP.
“But we have no doubt that Nigerians
will stand up to this. We have no doubt
that the international community is
watching,” he said.