By Jibrin Baba Ndace
Abuja
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, has disclosed that the era of military rule was gone and the military would continue to respect democratic institutions.
Badeh made the disclosure when he received members of the National Peace Committee for the 2015 General Elections visited him at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ).
He said: “The era of military rule is gone forever in this country. In fact, if there was military rule I am not sure if I could have been here. We are the armed forces of Nigeria and not that of any political party and will be subordinate to the constituted authorities.”
Badeh said the military leaders were the product of democratic governance and would therefore not embark on any activities that could jeopardise the electoral processes in the country.
He further assured that the military would remain non-partisan while carrying out their legitimate duties of providing the enabling security environment for Saturday’s elections.
Badeh also commended the efforts of the Peace Committee and expressed gratitude that the roles of the military in the whole electoral processes are being recognised and appreciated.
“The Armed Forces is indeed very proud that members of the peace committee are here to give us a pat on the back for what we have done.
“I want to again thank you for recognising what we have done in the North-east. I remember when we ask more time to embark on what we are doing but there were a lot of misgivings. But we are happy that we are able to ensure that some exercise their choice of who to govern them. Even though we did not achieve 100 per cent but we are able to secure the major ones.
“We want to say that Nigerian Armed Forces have been participating in the past elections and there was no much misgivings. We, as service chiefs, were beneficiaries of democracy because we were confirmed by the National Assembly.”
Early in his remarks, the Leader of National Peace Committee and former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), had commended the military for providing adequate security in ensuring free, fair and violence-free elections. He also commended the Armed Forces for liberating many communities in Nigeria from terrorists.
Also speaking, a member of the Peace Committee and former Foreign Affairs Minister, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, commended the military for exhibiting maturity and professionalism during the last Presidential and National Assembly elections on March 28, 2015.
Gambari, however, advised that despite their commendable efforts in the last polls, a lot still needed to be done to ensure that the forthcoming governorship and state assembly elections surpassed expectations.