The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cautioned against what it described as the unhealthy politicisation of matters of Army discipline, which it said are entirely within the purview of military authorities.
PDP Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Wednesday, said only comments that encourage discipline and obedience in the Army should be encouraged.
According to him, “the PDP will refrain from commenting on issues of military discipline, its command and control procedures during this campaign period or even after, as we believe that it is dangerous to politicise issues pertaining to the country’s Armed Forces.
“We will not join anyone or political party in the unpatriotic act of trying to subordinate national interest to any politically and selfishly motivated interest.
It is in the light of this that we view the statement credited to the Director General of the Presidential Campaign Organisation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as not being in the overall interest of the military and the nation.”
“We call on Nigerians to condemn the dishonourable tactic of the opposition desirous to gain contemptible political capital by dragging the internal affairs of the military into the arena of politics.”
“Across half a century of our nationhood, the Nigerian military has remained the major catalyst and the last defence line in the unity and oneness of the nation.”
“This sacred role which it has successfully been playing must be jealously guarded and its integrity not made subject to the vagaries of political interests.”
“One of the major visions of the founding fathers of the PDP, which its leadership has successfully fulfilled, is the return of professionalism to the military and the re-channeling of its efforts to squarely face its constitutional roles. Nigeria’s democracy and the people have been beneficiaries of this insulation of our armed forces from politics.”
“This painstaking process, in which we have been involved, has been responsible for the rebuilding and re-equipping of the military to confront the current security challenges.”
