Pressure to compromise 2023 polls: DHQ clarifies General Lucky Irabor’s statemen…

The Defence Headquarters on Friday said the military and other security agencies are not under pressure from desperate politicians to compromise the 2023 general elections.

In a statement, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Jimmy Akpor, also debunked reports attributed to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, that the military is pressurised to scuttle next year’s polls. He described the reports as “false and a deliberate or inadvertent attempt to twist what was said, to convey a sinister meaning.”

“The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to several headlines and news purporting to suggest that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor CFR, had alluded to the military (and other security agencies) being under pressure to compromise the 2023 elections,” the statement read.

“This impression was reportedly made during the 61st Session of the State House Briefing, which featured the Chief of Defence State on 8 December 2022.”

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The statement read in part:

The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to several headlines and news purporting to suggest that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor CFR, had alluded to the military (and other security agencies) being under pressure to compromise the 2023 elections. This impression was reportedly made during the 61st Session of the State House Briefing, which featured the Chief of Defence State on 8 December 2022. The Defence Headquarters however, wishes to say categorically that, this impression is not only erroneous, but false and a deliberate or inadvertent attempt to twist what was said, to convey a sinister meaning.

It is pertinent to mention that the referenced briefing was broadcast live on Nigeria Television Authority – NTA Channel 419 on DSTV and Channel 46 on GOTV. After the briefing by the Chief of Defence Staff, one of the correspondents asked, “You have spoken on military neutrality in times of elections. Specifically, based on what the Commander-in-Chief directed. Just this week, the President gave a directive to the Armed Forces to remain neutral during the 2023 elections. But my worry is that politicians have a way of piling pressure on security forces and we are witnesses to some of the things that occurred in the past exercises. Now, given this kind of scenario, where politicians or political actors try to pile pressure on your men, how far have you prepared to go to ensure that neutrality, as directed by the President, is protected?”

Source: Legit.ng