On Monday in Abuja, a meeting was held,
which had the service chiefs and the inspector-general of police in
attendance. They met with former head of state, Abdulsalami Abubakar,
who addressed them in his capacity as the Chairman of National Peace
Committee on 2015 Elections which was convened by the Founder, Kukah
Centre for Faith and Leadership Research, Bishop Mathew Kukah.
The committee also has as members
eminent Nigerians like businessman Aliko Dangote; Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe
(retd.), Cardinal John Onaiyekan; Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Sa’ad
Abubakar, Alhaji Muhammad Musdafa; Primate of Anglican Church, Most Rev.
Nicholas Okoh; President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo
Oritsejafor and Justice Rose Ukeje.
Others are Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, a
former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chairman of the 2014
National Conference, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi; Prof. Ameze Guobadia, Prof.
Zainab Alkali, Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Pemu-Amuka; Kukah and a former President of Nigerian Bar Association, Dame Priscilla Kuye.
The peace committee was formed to ensure
compliance with the Peace Accord which was signed by all the
presidential candidates and political parties fielding candidates in the
race.
Yesterday’s meeting with service chiefs was also attended by various political parties and religious leaders.
The ex-Head of State said, “Any Nigerian
who loves this country must preach peace. There is apprehension and
there is no need for that. Nigerians, please, I beg you, learn from the
former mistakes. We must ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of
the past. We must ensure that the February elections are peaceful and
secure.
“… I am very happy that the contestants
in the forthcoming Presidential elections have signed a peace accord and
I expect that they follow up in keeping up with this agreement.
“We all have roles to play. The media
has a role to play in ensuring that they preach peace. People tend to
believe in what they read. Avoid sensational stories and help preach
peace to our people.”
The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief
Marshall Alex Bade, had earlier said the military was prepared to assist
the police and other civil authorities in providing security before,
during and after the polls.
On his part, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.
Gen. Kenneth Minimah, also promised to support the police and other
civil authorities during the elections.
In his remarks, the Chief of Air Staff,
Air Marshal Adesola Amosun said, “We have commenced the airlift of
materials needed for the elections starting from Abuja. We have a lot of
unmanned airports in Nigeria, we have deployed our men to man these
airfields and should there be saboteurs, it will be difficult for them
to bring in illegal materials into the country.”
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr.
Suleiman Abba said, “The support to civil authorities by the military is
provided in the constitution. The military has the responsibility to
support civil authorities in providing security. That is why they need
to strengthen the civil security agencies during the election. In some
of the areas identified as flash points, we will invite the military to
assist. But it will not include the polling boots. The police will
continue to conduct its role in ensuring there is law and order in the
country.”
Former head of state, Abubaker, meets current service chiefs and Police IG in Abuja
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Oleh
healthandwealth
