A group of retired senior military officers has
warned Nigerians that any postponement of the Febraury elections could
lead to a military takeover of the country.
They said that any postponement may cause anarchy which would result in the military overthrowing the administration.
Former director of procurement in the defence headquarters,
Brigadier-General Ayodele Ojo (retd.), told Punch that the recent speech
by national security adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki, in favour of
postponement may lead to further military rule.
Dasuki had said that the postponement of next month’s elections would give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) more time to distribute over 30 million outstanding Permanent Voter Cards to registered voters.
He said that re-scheduling the elections would cost the INEC and the federal government nothing, adding, “it is still within the law”.
Ojo told reporters that the INEC and the government should not consider such a suggestion.
He said, “It is a backward step to the dark days of military rule when anti-democratic forces, on the eve of the June 12, 1993 presidential poll, were able to secure a dubious injunction from an Abuja High Court restricting the National Electoral Commission from conducting the election.
“This singular act was instrumental to the annulment of the election. It is worrisome that the call, this time around, is coming from a highly placed security official of the Nigerian government. Moreover, the reason given for the postponement is untenable, to say the least.
“What I think is required is for the federal government to declare Friday, February 6, 2015, as a work-free day to enable affected voters the last opportunity to collect their PVCs.
“INEC could also use that weekend before the presidential election as a dress rehearsal. This will require INEC to deploy its entire staff on that Friday and Saturday for the voters to collect their PVCs from the polling units, where they are expected to vote the following Saturday of the presidential election.
“This, I believe, will take care of this problem without resort to postponing the election, thereby creating unnecessary and avoidable crises. This suggestion by the NSA is uncalled for and must be resisted by all Nigerians in order to avoid plunging the country into self-inflicted crisis.”
Another military source told journalists that politicians must be extremely careful not to trigger a crisis that they may not be capable of handling.
He said, “I think we have to be very careful in this case. It may be the beginning of untoward things. We have to be extremely careful. Let the elections go on as scheduled. Let us avert any strife that may spring up. The military has taken over in this country before and we have to be careful that it doesn’t happen again.”
The former commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Brig-Gen Williams Obene (retd.), followed his fellow former officers in warning against such a postponement.
He said, “I think the polity is really fired up; there are so many reactions, interpretations and misunderstandings. And if we say we are a democratic country practising civilian democracy, then we have to work by the rule of law. If that is not done through the constitution, then it can attract anarchy.”
In the same vein, a former minister for police affairs, Maj-Gen David Jemibewon (retd.), warned that postponement of the elections could cause confusion in the country.
Jemibewon argued that if the election is postponed, the country’s future would be at risk.
He said, “I think we are being guided by the constitution of this country. Certainly, there is no provision for postponement of elections. However, if there is an emergency; if there is war; if there is disaster of a wide scale, it may be dictated by circumstances.
“Where do we say we derive the postponement? Is it from the constitution? The National Assembly has not debated it. It is an unnecessary talk.
“You may only consider it if there is an emergency or if there is war. The situation would have dictated it but which situation can we now say has dictated it?
“Do you know what will happen within the 90 days? That means when the 90th day comes, some people will gather again and postpone it for another 30 days or 90 days. What are the criteria for wanting to postpone just for 90 days?”
National security adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki, had asked that the postponement of the elections needed to be considered because of lack of PVC’s.
They said that any postponement may cause anarchy which would result in the military overthrowing the administration.
Brigadier General Ayodele Ojo retd.
Dasuki had said that the postponement of next month’s elections would give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) more time to distribute over 30 million outstanding Permanent Voter Cards to registered voters.
He said that re-scheduling the elections would cost the INEC and the federal government nothing, adding, “it is still within the law”.
Ojo told reporters that the INEC and the government should not consider such a suggestion.
He said, “It is a backward step to the dark days of military rule when anti-democratic forces, on the eve of the June 12, 1993 presidential poll, were able to secure a dubious injunction from an Abuja High Court restricting the National Electoral Commission from conducting the election.
“This singular act was instrumental to the annulment of the election. It is worrisome that the call, this time around, is coming from a highly placed security official of the Nigerian government. Moreover, the reason given for the postponement is untenable, to say the least.
“What I think is required is for the federal government to declare Friday, February 6, 2015, as a work-free day to enable affected voters the last opportunity to collect their PVCs.
“INEC could also use that weekend before the presidential election as a dress rehearsal. This will require INEC to deploy its entire staff on that Friday and Saturday for the voters to collect their PVCs from the polling units, where they are expected to vote the following Saturday of the presidential election.
“This, I believe, will take care of this problem without resort to postponing the election, thereby creating unnecessary and avoidable crises. This suggestion by the NSA is uncalled for and must be resisted by all Nigerians in order to avoid plunging the country into self-inflicted crisis.”
Another military source told journalists that politicians must be extremely careful not to trigger a crisis that they may not be capable of handling.
He said, “I think we have to be very careful in this case. It may be the beginning of untoward things. We have to be extremely careful. Let the elections go on as scheduled. Let us avert any strife that may spring up. The military has taken over in this country before and we have to be careful that it doesn’t happen again.”
The former commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Brig-Gen Williams Obene (retd.), followed his fellow former officers in warning against such a postponement.
He said, “I think the polity is really fired up; there are so many reactions, interpretations and misunderstandings. And if we say we are a democratic country practising civilian democracy, then we have to work by the rule of law. If that is not done through the constitution, then it can attract anarchy.”
In the same vein, a former minister for police affairs, Maj-Gen David Jemibewon (retd.), warned that postponement of the elections could cause confusion in the country.
Jemibewon argued that if the election is postponed, the country’s future would be at risk.
He said, “I think we are being guided by the constitution of this country. Certainly, there is no provision for postponement of elections. However, if there is an emergency; if there is war; if there is disaster of a wide scale, it may be dictated by circumstances.
“Where do we say we derive the postponement? Is it from the constitution? The National Assembly has not debated it. It is an unnecessary talk.
“You may only consider it if there is an emergency or if there is war. The situation would have dictated it but which situation can we now say has dictated it?
“Do you know what will happen within the 90 days? That means when the 90th day comes, some people will gather again and postpone it for another 30 days or 90 days. What are the criteria for wanting to postpone just for 90 days?”
National security adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki, had asked that the postponement of the elections needed to be considered because of lack of PVC’s.
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