In spite of the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, and the Federal High Court, Sokoto, which declared as illegal, the deployment of soldiers for election duties, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has said President Goodluck Jonathan would deploy troops for the forthcoming polls.
Justice R. M Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Sokoto in a judgment delivered on January 29, 2015 had barred the use of the Armed Forces in the conduct of elections.
Similarly, the Court of Appeal, which heard the appeal arising from the petition filed by the APC against Fayose’s victory in the June 21, 2014 governorship election in its judgment on Monday, also barred the use of members of the Armed Forces in the conduct of future elections in the country.
It said such actions constituted a violation of both the constitution and the Electoral Act.
But Fayose, who on Wednesday maintained that President Jonathan would continue to deploy soldiers for elections, accused the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, of planning to unleash mayhem on innocent Nigerians after the party would have lost in the March 28 presidential election.
The governor, who advised the APC to take its audio clip purporting the use of the military to rig the Ekiti State governorship election to court said, “Nigeria cannot be governed by blackmail and propaganda, but rule of law”.
Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor accused the APC of trying to prevent the involvement of the military in the elections so as to enable it to perpetrate violence during the elections.
Fayose said, “It is the constitutional right of President Goodluck Jonathan to deploy soldiers to provide security anywhere in Nigeria and not even the APC allies in the judiciary can take away this right”.
According to him, the military was being blackmailed by the APC because the party has not been able to compromise the institution
He added, “When APC people begin to blackmail an institution, it simply means that such institution has refused to be corrupted by the party.
“All the noise being made by the APC and its lousy leaders on their purported audio/video clip is aimed at blackmailing the military into abandoning its responsibility of providing security during the election so that they can carry out their evil plot of unleashing violence on Nigerians unhindered.
“They invaded Ekiti with thugs during the June 21, 2014 governorship election but the presence of soldiers prevented the thugs from operating in the state.
“When soldiers were deployed in Edo State and the election was won by the party, Governor Adams Oshiomhole led APC leaders on a thank you visit to President Jonathan in Abuja.
“The same soldiers that provided security in Edo State and APC won, provided security in Ondo and Ekiti State. APC lost in the two States and Nigerians have not been allowed to rest.
“Should election be seen as free and fair only when APC wins? Should the military be hailed for providing adequate security during elections only when APC wins?
“Let me say it categorically that here in Ekiti, APC’s plan to cause mayhem before, during and after the elections will be resisted.
“Also, let the APC be told pointedly that President Jonathan will deploy soldiers to provide security for Nigerians before, during and after the general elections and the APC blackmailers should drop their evil plan of visiting terror on Nigerians after losing the presidential election”.
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