2027: Come out, vote for whoever you want, Defence Minister tells Nigerians

The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), has assured Nigerians that members of the Armed Forces are committed to providing adequate security during and after the forthcoming general elections.

He gave the commitment on Thursday at the State House after a closed-door meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Defence Minister told State House correspondents that President Tinubu had charged them to comport themselves professionally during the forthcoming general elections by ensuring that the country is safe for people to cast their ballots.

He said:” Today’s meeting was to brief Mr. President on the security situation within the country. You know the election is coming in January and it’s important that we keep him abreast of what is ongoing. “You can see all heads of security agencies are here.

“We had an intensive discussion and Mr. President made it very clear: he wants a free, fair and credible elections and said we must do everything possible to ensure that the country is safe and secure for the citizens to go out and vote.

“So, we want to assure Nigerians that we are committed, we are determined to provide safety and security for all Nigerians. Everyone should come out and vote for whoever they want.

“The President wants the atmosphere to be free and it’s important for all political parties to understand that the security forces are going to be neutral, we are going to ensure that we give everybody opportunity. So they have nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid of and nobody is going to intimidate them for whatever reasons. We are all professionals and we are fully committed. “

General Musa also absolved the Armed Forces of the allegation of recruiting underage persons to prosecute the war against terrorism, submitting that only terrorist groups would indulge in such an unprofessional act.

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“It is also important for us to mention, of recent we have seen some people trying to make a case as if the Arned Forces is using underage children. We are very professional Armed Forces, there is nobody that is underage that’s being brought here.

“I think the discussion that was made was the accusation was the terrorists using underage but we know that we don’t have control over what they do and that’s why it’s important for us to understand that we mustn’t allow them to remain wherever they are.

“The directive from the President is that all of us must go all out to fish out all those that have been abducted by kidnappers, where ever they are, there shouldn’t be any camp of any terrorists or bandits anywhere in Nigeria

“As we go forward, we are fully committed and that’s what we are going to work towards. “