Army protects democracy
The senator
representing Imo East in the National Assembly, Chris Anyanwu,
yesterday disclosed that the men of the Nigerian Army saved the Imo
governorship supplementary election from being hijacked by desperate
politicians.
Ms Anyanwu observed
that the soldiers in a display of sound professionalism and inspiring
patriotism resisted desperate efforts and pressures to derail the
election process in last Friday’s supplementary poll.
“This crop of military men made Nigerians proud,” she said.
Commenting on the
conduct of the Police during the election, the senator who was also
re-elected under the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance
(APGA) said, “The Police disappointed us all. I had far higher
expectation of the Nigerian Police than what we saw last Friday. I dare
say, there is yet a lot of cleaning up to be done in the Nigerian
Police.”
The senator,
however, noted that only the supplementary election was a genuine
election and full reflection of the wishes of the people of Imo State
whom she said had gone through four years of suffering and silent
endurance.
Commenting on the
role of the military in the election, the assistant director, Army
Public Relations, 82 Division, Enugu, Lieutenant Colonel Musa Sagir,
said the military first delineated the trouble spots before deploying
personnel and hardwares.
Remarkable,
however, was the scenario that took place at Mbaitoli, the largest
council area in the state which had over 120,000 voters. According to a
community source, in the determination of the Army to ensure a credible
election, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Major
General Sarkin Yaki Bello, had on the election day, slept with his
troop in the open field outside the Mbaitoli INEC office which served
as council collation centre keeping watch on the conduct of the
exercise.
According Mr Sagir, the GOC had moved round flashpoints in Oguta and
Mbaitoli with his troop and returned to Mbaitoli where they kept vigil
until they safely escorted the result to the state INEC office.
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