Don’t interfere with political process, Atiku, Secondus warn security agents

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party,
Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday urged security agents to avoid
interfering in the political process of the country.

He stated that security agencies were constitutionally saddled
with the responsibility of ensuring security of lives and property
in the country.

Speaking during a PDP presidential rally at Jalingo in Taraba
State, he also promised that if he won the February 16 presidential
election, he would complete the Mambilla hydro electric power,
build federal roads, exploit and harness abundant natural resources
in Taraba State.

Atiku said, “Our security services have no business to interfere
with our political process; that is not your work. Your work is to
make sure that there is peace, law and order. It is not your
business to interfere in our political process. This is not your
constitutional responsibility at all. Your constitutional
responsibility is to make sure that we are all safe.

“Any government that draws the security agencies, the police,
the army, the civil defence, that government is doing more harm to
your career, it is doing more harm to your patriotism and more harm
to yourself. Don’t accept that, don’t get involved, allow us to
choose the leaders we want to choose and to elect the people we
want to elect. It is not your business whom we elect at all.

“So I want to caution the security services not to get involved
because there are many of us who are also security officers, so
don’t come and tell us bullshit.”

The PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, also cautioned
security agencies against allowing themselves to be used to
compromise the electoral process.

He advised the Independent National Electoral Commission not to
rig the elections, adding that rigging election could precipitate
crisis in the country.

He urged the INEC and security agencies to ensure that the
elections are credible, free, fair and transparent. He also
cautioned against frequent redeployment of security personnel.

Secondu said, “As for our security agencies, we have seen police
being reformed, we have seen the Department of State Servives being
reformed. There are good people there and by the special grace of
God, they will not defend an individual. But they will defend the
constitution of our country. They are supposed to protect lives and
properties. We believe that if they take sides, that will cause
crisis. And so, they must be neutral. Recently, they are posting
people here and there. This is a country they have signed to
protect, not to protect an individual. A tree does not make a
forest. And nobody is God to Nigeria.

“We have the issue of Boko Haram in Borno. They should tackle
that issue. Buhari, don’t use the military to terrorise regions
that you don’t like. Enough is enough. The Nigerian military is to
defend our territorial integrity. We shouted aloud that foreigners
were entering into our country. They have no response to it because
we have evidence. And in today’s papers, they said opposition
parties are bringing foreigners. I want to challenge Lai Mohammed (
the Minister of Information and Culture) to bring your evidence or
bury your head in shame. You don’t raise issues without
evidence.

“We have evidence, two governors from Niger Republic who
attended the All Progressives Congress rally in Kano. We have the
pictures. As they moved en masse from Niger Republic to Kano, we
have the evidence. Other national and international security
agencies also have evidence against the APC. If you have evidence
against the opposition, come out with your evidence.”

At the campaign in Bauchi, the PDP chairman described President
Muhammadu Buhari as weak and unable to deliver dividends of
democracy to Nigerians.

Secondus said Atiku, if voted as President, will run a
transparent and open government.

He said: “Nobody can deceive us. Buhari is weak, he cannot go
further. He must surrender because he cannot deliver, he cannot
interact.

“Atiku will not give his power to anybody. He will not give his
power to the cabal. Buhari has given his power to the cabal but
Atiku will not do that.”

He called on the electorate to cast their votes and wait for the
votes to be counted and recorded.

According to him, Nigerians are hungry and “I want to urge you
to vote for Atiku because a vote for him is a vote for employment.
Vote for security, vote for food.”