South-East governors yesterday called on the military to caution troops to be more professional in the discharge of their duties.
They warned the military to remain apolitical, stressing that any attempt to yield to the temptation of being used to manipulate general elections would be resisted.
According to the Governors Forum, the forthcoming elections will go a long way in shaping Nigeria’s future as one indivisible entity.
The military has launched Operation Python Dance III in the zone to assure residents of their safety in the face of heightened tension ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Forum Chairman and Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi spoke for his colleagues when the General officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Abubarka Maikobi, visited him at the Government House in Abakaliki.
The governor acknowledged the fact that the Southeast had been greatly troubled by the military presence, especially because of the recent clash between the army and members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He called on troops deployed in the region to remain neutral and maintain high level of professionalism in the discharge of their duties for as long as the operation will last.
Umahi challenged them to come up with workable policies that would earn them the confidence of the people of the zone in the cause of their duties, adding that the army and other security agencies must remain neutral in the coming general election in the state and, by extension, the Southeast.
The governor said the zone will not have any problem with the place the army may deem fit to establish their operational headquarters as long as they keep to the ethics of their profession of protecting the people instead of being seen or accused of killing them.
He said his state and the Southeast would resist any attempt to rig the general election, using security agencies as tools, adding that the only way Nigeria would exist beyond 2019 was for credible elections to hold where all security agencies are seen to be neutral.
Gen. Maikobi said he was in the state to familiarise with the governments and people of the Southeast and also inform him about the army’s plan to begin Operation Egwu Eke III.
The GOC said: “I am also here to inform you that I have been mandated by the Chief of Army Staff to formally inform you as the Chief Security Officer of the state that exercise Egwu Eke III was flagged off in Maiduguiri, Borno State. The exercise is scheduled to take place from January 1 to 28 February, 2019. We have selected Ebonyi under your purposeful leadership as the location for the step-up headquarters for the exercise.”
Gen. Maikobi assured that troops would be neutral, saying: “I assure you and the good people of Ebonyi State that the Nigeria Army will remain neutral, professional and totally apolitical. Nigerian army will not compromise its constitutional roles under any guise.”
