A group, Media for Morals on Thursday castigated the Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for inciting officers and men of the armed forces to disobey lawful orders made by constituted authorities.
Consequently, the group has expressed its full support for the Nigerian Army, particularly the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, for vowing to ensure that the armed forces remain apolitical and professional in the discharge of its duties.
President Muhammadu Buhari had at the All Progressives Congress caucus meeting reportedly ordered security agencies to be ruthless with ballot box snatchers.
But, in a press statement dated 21st February, 2019 and signed by the group National Coordinator, Dr. Mairo Mudi, the group further berated Atiku for encouraging lawlessness in the armed forces.
The statement said: “It is really deeply saddening, just as the Army Leadership has observed, that someone that wants to lead Nigeria and be the Commander-in-Chief of its armed forces is the very person inciting officers and men of the armed forces to disobey lawful orders made by constituted authorities.
“All the hullabaloo about president buhari’s warning for the military and the police to deal ruthlessly with ballot box snatchers is only indicative of the fact that some politicians, obviously of the opposition stock, were reliant on that method to get to power through rigging,”
The statement reads further: “general buratai’s directives are well in order when viewed with a dispassionate mind, and within the context of the law, “as the military, not just the army, cannot turn down a directive made by the President, who, constitutionally, is their Commander-in-Chief, and more so when that order is aimed at ensuring the credible election that Nigerians have been yearning for is entrenched.”
