*Says military on red alert
Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), yesterday, declared that the nation’s Armed Forces would deal decisively with any acts inimical to the successful conduct of the general election, starting next month.
This comes as the Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Bashir Magashi (rtd) commended the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for its readiness to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to airlift its staff and logistics before, during and after the elections.
At a media briefing in Abuja, Director, Directorate of Defence Media Operations, Major Gen. Musa Danmadami, assured Nigerians that the military as an institution would remain apolitical but would deal ruthlessly with any act that would be inimical to the smooth conduct of the polls nationwide.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria is on stand by for the general election. There is no cause for concern, the CDS has stated this on several occasions, we will remain apolitical but will deal divisively with any unwanted behaviour. The rules of engagement are there, copies of the code of conduct are being distributed to the troops.
“The Nigeria Police Force is the lead agency in the conduct of elections but the military and other sister security agencies will play supportive roles and we are ready for the supportive roles.
“There is no cause for concern as we speak now, we are conducting various operations in the perceived volatile South-east zone to restore normalcy in the area as we did in the past after which peaceful elections were held. The coming elections will also hold in the area and so also in all the parts of the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Bashir Magashi (rtd), has commended the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for its readiness to support INEC to airlift its staff and logistics before, during and after the 2023 general elections.
The defence minister gave the commendation during the roll-out ceremony of C-130 Hercules aircraft (NAF918), held at the 631 Aircraft Maintenance Depot, NAF, Ikeja, Lagos.
Magashi, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Dr Ibrahim Kana, said he was pleased with NAF’s preparations towards the forthcoming elections.
This, he said, was exemplified by the timely completion of the in-country Periodic Depot Maintenance (PDM) of the NAF C-130H aircraft to boost its airlift capacity to support INEC.
He, however, congratulated the NAF for its technical breakthrough, noting that it further demonstrated its quest for capacity development and self-reliance in equipment maintenance.
In his remarks, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, said the roll-out ceremony of the C-130H aircraft resonated with his vision to enhance and sustain NAF critical airpower capabilities required for joint force employment in pursuit of national security imperatives.
“The platform could not have been reactivated at a better time as the NAF is now better positioned to support INEC to airlift electoral staff and logistics in the forthcoming general election. It is on this note that we welcome NAF 918 back to operational readiness to achieve its logistics assignment,” he said.
He further remarked that in-country periodic maintenance had improved NAF aircraft serviceability as well as significantly reduced maintenance cost of carrying out such maintenance overseas, while conserving foreign exchange for the country.
Air Marshal Amao further averred that the NAF aircraft maintenance engineers and technicians involved in the PDM project were more exposed to the requisite expertise and high quality maintenance practices.
Earlier, the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Logistics Command, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Emmanuel Shobande, described PDM as series of in-depth maintenance activities which is carried out on an aircraft within an interval to extend the life span as well as enhancing the operational safety and effectiveness of the aircraft.
He revealed that NAF C-130H undergoes PDM every four years where extensive disassembly, inspections, change of some components, overhauling and reassembling amongst others, took place.
