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From Molly Kilete, Abuja
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Faruk Yahaya, has charged General Officers Commanding (GOCs), units and formation commanders of the army to provide conducive and secured environment for the conduct of successful elections.
Yahaya, who gave the charge while flagging off the commencement of Operation Safe Conduct in all Nigerian Army Divisions and formations across the country, urged officers and soldiers to be professional, apolitical and steer clear of politicians.
He tasked those deployed for the elections to adhere strictly to extant code of conduct and rules of engagement guiding personnel throughout their operations.
He equally charged the commanders to deploy requisite logistics to ensure security and safety of citizens during the elections.
“You must, therefore, refrain from hobnobbing with political gladiators and maintain your apolitical stance,” he said. Yahaya reiterated the resolve of the Army to strictly adhere to its constitutional role by supporting the Police, which is the lead security agency in the 2023 elections security architecture.
Director Army Public Relations Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, who made this known, yesterday, said Yahaya charged the commanders to identify and dominate flash points in their areas of responsibility, adding that troops must be alert, proactive and operate jointly with sister services and other security agencies during the elections.
Meanwhile, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 3 Division Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalami Ibrahim, has assured Nigerians of peaceful conduct of the forthcoming general elections.
Speaking, yesterday, at the inauguration of the Division’s Operational Planning Training exercise in Bauchi.he noted that different forms of insecurity had peculiar set of challenges that require individualised training of security personnel operating in the zones.
He said the army had prepared its personnel and operatives of sister security agencies for the conduct of a hitch free election exercise.
Represented by Maj Gen. Eyitayo Oyinlola, the GOC described the training exercise as timely, and urged the participants to remain professionals in the discharge of their duties.
The exercise, he said, would prepare officers within the its Area of Responsibility (AOR) for the task ahead to ensure hitch free election.
“The lectures in this cadre are particularly crafted to provide the security personnel operating in the North Central and North East regions of operations with the necessary tools to face security challenges peculiar to the regions. Considering the nature of operations, the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies are currently undergoing training across the nation, to tackle militancy in the south, insurgency in the North East and banditry/terrorism in the North West,” he said.
