Text of press statement by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, after the APC Kaduna State stakeholders meeting, 25 March 2015
A historic moment beckons on Nigeria as
we approach the 2015 elections. Our country stands poised delicately
between breakthrough and breakdown, between the catharsis of renewal and
the tragedy of hopelessness. Millions of Nigeria would be choosing
renewal and hope, banishing fear and embracing the future.
The question is whether they will be not
be obstructed in making this choice, and whether the choice would be
respected once made. The conduct and utterances of the PDP leadership
does not inspire confidence that they are committed to a credible
electoral process. As regrettably demonstrated by the Ekitigate tape,
President Goodluck Jonathan’s PDP government has no respect for the
professionalism, dignity and integrity of the people in our military and
security services. To anchor rigging plans on using the personnel and
material assets of these services amounts to using the institutions that
should protect and secure the country as wreckers. The lack of
accountability for the Ekiti rigging fiasco, the absence of the
redemptive possibility of remorse and the unwillingness to fully
investigate and prosecute the key actors fill us with dread. When such
baleful conduct goes unpunished, it can only mean that it is the default
modus operandi of the perpetrators. And that is not the sort of
behaviour that can produce a free, fair and credible election.
That is why we are deeply worried by
reports that the leaders of the security sector have jettisoned every
appearance of impartiality for Saturday’s presidential election. Chatter
in informed circles has it that General Kenneth Minimah has sworn to
use the soldiers and equipment of the army to promote President
Jonathan’s cause. That is both improper and illegal. The Nigerian army
should not be reduced to stormtroopers for a president beleaguered by
his own sorry record of six years of incompetence. Minimah might feel a
sense of gratitude that Jonathan made him army chief, ahead of 14 of his
seniors. But the constitutional power bestowed on presidents to
nominate or appoint senior officials does not oblige the appointee to
behave like a lapdog or be incapable of functioning with integrity,
professional dignity and respect for the law.
Minimah is certainly not alone in
abandoning the sanctity of his oath. A slew of generals and security
chiefs have clearly narrowed their duty to protecting Jonathan from
defeat. Military commanders and police officers are sounding not merely
like PDP partisans. They are acting like operatives of the armed wing of
the PDP. They have paid little attention to the likely consequences of
their actions. Interfering with the election, both in terms of process
and the integrity of the result, is a sure recipe for disaster. That is a
step that will certainly set the country on fire, and not just in ways
we can all foresee.
Tainted and stolen elections will set
this country back. It will destroy lives, wreck the economy and lead to
perpetual instability. And the contours of that anarchy are not
predictable.
This country has suffered enough. The
people of this country stood up for the Constitution to make Jonathan
acting president against the machinations of the Yar’Adua cabal.
Jonathan went ahead to fritter the good will, and he set a new marker
for incompetence and for not giving a damn. The Constitution should not
be subverted to illegally prolong the stay of a poor performer who only
made it that far because the Constitution was upheld.
Nigerians have realised that Jonathan
simply does not care. He is not bothered about the welfare and security
of Nigerians. All he is obsessed about is avoiding defeat. And he does
not care if the country is sacrificed for him. Enough is enough.
We urge all military and security
officers to stand up for the Constitution, the rule of law and the peace
and unity of this country. They should resist all illegal orders to
subvert the electoral process or to tamper with results. They should
ignore orders to violate the liberty and lives of political opponents.
They all swore an oath to defend Nigeria. This is one moment to show
they respect the obligations of that oath. It is time to stand up for
Nigeria.
Kaduna, 25 March 2015
Credit: omojuwa.com
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