In the wake of the indictment of the military for their role in the Governorship and State Assembly election, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank has charged the Chief of Army staff, Lt Gen. Tukur Buratai, to tender a public apology to Nigerians.
Frank in his reaction to a statement credited to the INEC on Saturday expressing displeasure over the role played by armed military personnel during the Rivers state governorship election, Frank said he had been vindicated.
He said he had earlier raised an alarm calling on the military authorities to be neutral before the election, adding that instead of the security agency to heed his call, “Buratai and his co-politicians in military uniform disregarded it and tagged him as a “Protagonist of Fake News.”
While describing the military’s involvement in the 2019 general elections as shameful, Frank said if the likes of Buratai and his cohorts are tired of wearing military uniforms “they should form a political party or publicly register as a department under the APC.”
He challenged the military to name just one country in Africa or the entire world where their colleagues have brazenly taken sides during elections “like what Nigeria witnessed in both the presidential, National Assembly and governorship elections?
“In 2015, there was no reported case of an active involvement of military personnel during the general elections. Although, that was the last time Nigeria had a civilian President who had respect for democracy and the rule of law.
“Therefore, the honest declaration by the INEC regarding the involvement of military under Buratai in the Rivers State governorship election is a shame and I deserve apology from the Nigerian Army for tagging me as a “Protagonist of Fake News.”
“Evil, they say, can only succeed when good people refuse to talk. As far as Nigeria is concerned, I and other like minds shall not be intimidated or forced into a conspiracy of silence in the face of oppression – which the Nigerian military under Buratai is reputed for,” he said.
