PDP Reacts As Defence Chief Says Military Under Pressure To Compromise Elections

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to a statement by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Leo Irabor, that the military is under pressure to compromise the 2023 elections.

Naija News reported that the Defence Chief had claimed that the military and other security agencies are facing constant pressure from politicians to compromise elections.

Irabor disclosed this on Thursday while speaking at the ministerial media briefing organised by the presidential communications team at the presidential villa, Abuja.

He further stated that necessary measures have been put in place to ensure that the military follows the directives of President Muhammadu Buhari to remain neutral in the forthcoming elections.

The defence chief added that the military will assist the Nigeria Police Force in monitoring and securing the process.

Reacting to the development, the spokesman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan, urged the military to resist the pressure to compromise the 2023 elections.

In a chat with The Punch on Thursday, he said it was important for the military to guarantee a credible poll in addition to its duty of protecting the territorial integrity of the country.

Ologbondiyab added that the Defence Chief should ensure that its men adhered to the rule of law during and after the forthcoming polls.

He said: “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.”

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 added the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has been campaigning and also talking to Nigerians about his plans for Nigerians, asking other contestants to do the same.

He said: “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 his 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.”