A former Speaker, Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Hon Onofiok Luke, has called on the Armed Forces to remain neutral, professional and apolitical in the discharge of their duties in the 2027 general elections.
The former lawmaker made the call at a one day seminar organised by Naval Base Abuja, themed: “The Roles of the Armed Forces in Conducting Free, Fair and Credible Elections” on Monday in Abuja.
Luke is also a former member representing Etinan/Nsit Ibom/Nsit Ubium Federal Constituency in the House of Representative.
The former House of Representatives member, who was the guest speaker at the seminar, said that the importance of the neutrality of the armed forces during elections could not be overemphasised.
“For no reason should the military be political. Its neutrality must be evident and open to all political stakeholders. They must resist the temptation of being lured into partisan politics,” he said.
He said that the armed forces as an institution should train its personnel on civil conducts, human rights and safety of the electorate during elections.
According to him, it remained necessary for the army to cultivate attitude of respect for the democratic process and its sustainability in order to maximise efficiency of military contribution.
He, however, maintained that military personnel were also citizens and retained the right to vote during elections.
According to Luke, adequate arrangements must be made to ensure that regardless of stations, military personnel also exercised their franchise, as that would help to shape the perception of civilians.
”Some studies showed that a good number of people come out to vote when military personnel are used on election days because people feel a sense of security if they are sure of their security in any election.
“Ordinarily, the involvement of armed forces personnel in elections should give voters a sense of safety but this has not been the case.”
The former speaker attributed this to the negative reputation of the military towards democratic processes and perceived unfriendly relationship with civilians.
“While there is also hard evidence of serial misconducts by armed forces personnel during elections, the most challenging issue is a perception problem.
“For instance, some voters believe that there is no guarantee that armed forces, who are answerable to the President as their Commander-in-Chief, will be neutral in an election where the President is also contesting.
“For voters with this school of thought, the numerous reports of the military’s commendable efforts are nothing but fairy tales and the military must do everything to fix this public perception, he said.
He recommended strategic stakeholders’ and community engagements like town hall meetings as a means of sensitising the voters on the genuine nature of the efforts to strengthen transparency in the electoral process.
“Engagements where all the stakeholders in the electoral process, including the armed forces, meet and engage provide voters with the opportunity to dialogue with armed forces personnel before elections.
“If they are able to share their concerns and get immediate feedback from the military, the voters will likely approach elections with a positive orientation about the military,” he advised.(NAN)
