Election Monitoring Coalition (EMC), a civil society organisation, has praised the conduct of Nigerian Armed Forces personnel during Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The coalition made the remark in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja by the Director of Monitoring, Bello Yahuza, and the Director of Politics, Yewande Amusa.
They stated that their team specifically went out on Saturday to assess the conduct of military personnel and discovered that they had carried out their responsibilities with high ethical standards.
According to the group, their investigation was based on promises made by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, that the armed forces would remain apolitical.
According to them, Irabor also promised that the military would work with relevant security agencies to ensure a peaceful election.
They said the defence chief also promised kept to his promises to ensure peaceful conduct of elections in areas with security challenges and ensure that the personnel play unbiased role.
The coalition said that the reports from different parts of the country indicated that the armed forces kept to its promises, saying the military was not only apolitical but also collaborated with other security agencies effectively.
“Generally, observers reported that the security personnel behaved and conducted themselves professionally.
“EMC gave kudos to the Chief of Defence Staff for building a military force with enviable records, especially in conduct during electioneering period.
“All those who made different insinuations targeted at the top echelon of the Armed forces before the election have now realized their error,” they said.
The Coalition commended the military for the peaceful conduct of polls in the North East and South East, adding that nobody thought it would have been possible in the two regions.
They urged the candidates in the remaining elections to play by the rule and accept the results in the interest of the nation.
“We note how troops nullified attempt by terrorists to disrupt elections in Mandara Mountains in Gwoza, Borno State.
“In Gombe, soldiers recovered two ballot boxes from thugs who snatched them from the Government Science Secondary School in the Jekadafari area of the state.
“Across the country, it is a story of professional conduct by our troops. This indeed is commendable.
“We want to say without any reservations that the Armed Forces of Nigeria scored almost 100 percent in the Presidential elections, and we re certain that they will continue like that in the March 11 elections,” they added. (NAN)
