El-Rufai Kicks Against Deployment of Soldiers for Elections

The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has kicked against the deployment of soldiers for the March 28 and April 11 elections or subsequent elections in Nigeria. EL-rufai said that the military have no reason to be at polling centres or collation centres during elections, insisting that only the Police is constitutionally empowered to monitor elections in the country. In an exclusive interview with Channels Television in Kaduna, the former FCT Minister pointed out that a Federal High Court in Sokoto State had delivered a judgement restricting military personnel from taking part in elections. El-Rufai called on the military authorities to abide by the court judgement and dedicate their energy to flush out the Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast. The former FCT Minister also alleged plot by the Presidency and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to cancel the forthcoming polls and install an interim government with a view to truncating the victory of the APC Presidential Candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), whose growing popularity, he said, has overwhelmed the ruling party. He warned that any attempt to cancel the elections would create political crisis across the country and truncate the peace accord earlier signed by political parties and their candidates in Abuja. According to El-Rufai, the PDP and the Presidency masterminded the postponement of the elections because of apparent fear of losing the election, and had also devised another method of rigging by buying off Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from the electorate in states and areas considered as APC strongholds. The APC candidate also described those calling for the removal of the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, as desperate politicians who have lost out in their bid to influence the INEC Chairman.