Politics
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday urged security agents to avoid interfering in the political process of the country.
He stated that security agencies were constitutionally saddled with the responsibility of ensuring security of lives and property in the country.
Speaking during a PDP presidential rally at Jalingo in Taraba State, he also promised that if he won the February 16 presidential election, he would complete the Mambilla hydro electric power, build federal roads, exploit and harness abundant natural resources in Taraba State.
Atiku said, “Our security services have no business to interfere with our political process; that is not your work. Your work is to make sure that there is peace, law and order. It is not your business to interfere in our political process. This is not your constitutional responsibility at all. Your constitutional responsibility is to make sure that we are all safe.
“Any government that draws the security agencies, the police, the army, the civil defence, that government is doing more harm to your career, it is doing more harm to your patriotism and more harm to yourself. Don’t accept that, don’t get involved, allow us to choose the leaders we want to choose and to elect the people we want to elect. It is not your business whom we elect at all.
“So I want to caution the security services not to get involved because there are many of us who are also security officers, so don’t come and tell us bullshit.”
The PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, also cautioned security agencies against allowing themselves to be used to compromise the electoral process.
He advised the Independent National Electoral Commission not to rig the elections, adding that rigging election could precipitate crisis in the country.
He urged the INEC and security agencies to ensure that the elections are credible, free, fair and transparent. He also cautioned against frequent redeployment of security personnel.
Secondu said, “As for our security agencies, we have seen police being reformed, we have seen the Department of State Servives being reformed. There are good people there and by the special grace of God, they will not defend an individual. But they will defend the constitution of our country. They are supposed to protect lives and properties. We believe that if they take sides, that will cause crisis. And so, they must be neutral. Recently, they are posting people here and there. This is a country they have signed to protect, not to protect an individual. A tree does not make a forest. And nobody is God to Nigeria.
“We have the issue of Boko Haram in Borno. They should tackle that issue. Buhari, don’t use the military to terrorise regions that you don’t like. Enough is enough. The Nigerian military is to defend our territorial integrity. We shouted aloud that foreigners were entering into our country. They have no response to it because we have evidence. And in today’s papers, they said opposition parties are bringing foreigners. I want to challenge Lai Mohammed ( the Minister of Information and Culture) to bring your evidence or bury your head in shame. You don’t raise issues without evidence.
“We have evidence, two governors from Niger Republic who attended the All Progressives Congress rally in Kano. We have the pictures. As they moved en masse from Niger Republic to Kano, we have the evidence. Other national and international security agencies also have evidence against the APC. If you have evidence against the opposition, come out with your evidence.”
At the campaign in Bauchi, the PDP chairman described President Muhammadu Buhari as weak and unable to deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
Secondus said Atiku, if voted as President, will run a transparent and open government.
He said: “Nobody can deceive us. Buhari is weak, he cannot go further. He must surrender because he cannot deliver, he cannot interact.
“Atiku will not give his power to anybody. He will not give his power to the cabal. Buhari has given his power to the cabal but Atiku will not do that.”
He called on the electorate to cast their votes and wait for the votes to be counted and recorded.
According to him, Nigerians are hungry and “I want to urge you to vote for Atiku because a vote for him is a vote for employment. Vote for security, vote for food.”
Tags: Atiku Don’t interfere with political process Secondus warn security agents
