Molly kilete, Abuja

The Nigerian Army has again warned its personnel against any involvement in political activities during, before and after the 2019 general election in the country.

Acting director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, who gave the warning in Abuja, said this has become necessary following the allegation of the involvement of one of its officers in political activities in Rivers State, which was later discovered to be untrue.

He, therefore, urged the public to ignore the information attributed to the Nigerian Army, saying it was contrary to its core values, professionalism, respect for others and open declaration on the rules of engagement.

Musa said the army would have ordinarily ignored the allegations but for unsuspecting members of the public who might be misled to believe the unsubstantiated allegations.

In a statement made available to Daily Sun, he said, “The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to an allegation of involvement of one of its officers in politics in Rivers State, which was found to be untrue. 

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“The Nigerian Army would have ordinarily ignored such baseless insinuations but for the unsuspecting members of the public who may be misled to believe the unsubstantiated allegations of political involvement of a military officer.

“The army has made it sufficiently and consistently clear that none of its personnel will be involved in political campaigns,  escort of VIPs for political missions and, above all, aiding or supporting any political party as has been circulated in official circulars and statements.

“Although a detailed press statement has been released, the need to further make the position of the Nigerian Army clearer is, therefore, imperative. 

“Our rules of engagement and Code of Conduct have not assigned any political role to the  army in this regard. The army’s involvement starts and ends with the provision of a peaceful and secure environment for the conduct of 2019 general election.

“The Nigerian Army strongly believes that the citizens, like responsible media, have complementary constitutional roles to play, especially towards ensuring national security, information management, peace, and safety of Nigerians.”