AC ACCUSES  AGWAI OF INCITING  THE  MILITARY

NIGERIANS may be disenchanted by the conduct of the last general elections, but they are even more resolutely opposed to military rule, according to the Action Congress (AC).

The opposition party made the declaration yesterday in reaction to what it regarded as a subtle threat of military intervention in Nigeria's politics, issued at the weekend by the out-going Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Martins Luther Agwai.

Agwai, at his farewell visit to military formations in Ibadan, Oyo State, cautioned politicians against bad policies and actions that might force the soldiers to take over power.
He said: "If the politicians decide to go to war today on themselves and start burning every place in this country, what do you want the military to do? To fold their arms and keep quiet?"

But a statement by AC's National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, deplored the outgoing Army chief's statement. It declared: "Nigerians won't accept any military intervention under whatever guise and Gen. Agwai should know this."

The AC described the Army chief's statement as "ill-timed and unnecessary." It also said that the "threat" amounted to "an attempt to incite military adventurers who might want to mistake the widespread disenchantment with the last elections, which were massively rigged, for an endorsement of any military coup."
The AC stated further: "It was in realisation of that fact that our party, as well as other aggrieved political parties, decided to challenge the outcome of the sham polls in court."

It added: "We politicians are mature enough to solve our problems through constitutional and legal means, instead of going to war on ourselves as claimed by Agwai."

The AC reminded Agwai that the constitutional role of the military is to defend Nigeria's territorial integrity against external aggressions, "not to jump at the slightest chance to interfere in any disagreement or crisis that may arise within the country."
"The military has also been part of the problems with Nigeria and cannot now pretend to be above board or be holier than thou," the party added