Ex Chief Of Defense Staff, Akinrinade, APC PCC, React To Obasanjo’s Statement On Last Saturday’s Elections
Former Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Staff Retired General Alani Akinrinade has condemned the recent statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the recently concluded elections.
In a statement issued to newsmen, retired general Akinrinade said the call by the former president challenging integrity of a national elections and calling a seating President to cancel the process was without any shred of evidence.
The retired general who said he was confident that Nigeria was on the right path called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore Chief Obasanjo’s recent statement and focus on supporting the lawful institution to do its job by allowing the process to run it’s full course.
The statement reads in part:
“As a General who fought for the unity of this country and one that has witnessed the many twists and turns of our Democratic development, I am certain that Nigeria this time is on the right path. I find it most disturbing and objectionable that a former General and President will introduce such a diatribe into the body politic of Nigeria at such a delicate time as this.”
“Being not neutral, Obasanjo’s intervention falls short of patriotism and fits perfectly into meddling in the affairs of state that is already the constitutional responsibility of INEC.”
“I call on President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore Obasanjo’s recent interruptions and focus on supporting the lawful institution to do its job by allowing the process to run it’s full course.”
“The President Buhari i know will let the process run its full course and will not intervene in an undemocratic manner to truncate the ongoing political process.”
“Luckily, President Buhari is made of finer and more principled democratic stuff. He will not allow Obasanjo to lure him into tainting his democratic credentials in this regard. I recall that in his last trip to the United States, President Joe Biden praised Buhari’s commitment to democratic values and principles. Obasanjo has no such record to be applauded.”
“Nigerians have voted. Their votes have counted. Let no one disrupt the process.”
Similarly, The All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, has condemned the call by Former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the cancellation of last Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly’s elections.
In a statement, Special Adviser, Media, Communications and Public Affairs, Mr Dele Alake, said the APC – PCC viewed the statement of the Former President as undemocratic and an attempt to ignite tension in the country.
The APC – PCC challenged Chief Obasanjo to provide reliable evidence of his claims that the electoral process had been compromised and manipulated.
The APC – PCC noted that any true democrat would not seek for the abortion of any electoral process, but rather seek redress where necessary.
According to the APC – PCC, Nigerians should not subscribe to the false claims by the Former President, which it also described as mischievous.
