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Story of alleged plan by the Presidency to ensure Muhammadu Buhari of the APC do not take over from the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan is spreading fast in the media. According to the gist, they have seen that Buhari is coasting home to victory and are plotting to bring in the military.
But the Nigerian Army has denied any knowledge of plans by the Chief of Army Staff and serving senior officers to establish an interim government in the event that the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), wins the February 14 presidential contest.
The denial, in a press statement on Tuesday, related directly to reports by Sahara Reporters on Monday that some top army officers were privy to the plans.
Sources had disclosed that a multi-pronged approach has been put in place to frustrate the successful hosting of the presidential election, scheduled to hold in less than two weeks, including using elements within the armed forces...
The Army bristled at the report.
"Any discerning mind would notice that these false and baseless allegations are calculated attempts by unpatriotic elements to divide the Nigerian Army, create disaffection among its ranks and distract the service from its avowed constitutional duty of defending the territorial integrity of our great nation," it said in the statement, which was signed by Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, the Acting Director of Army Public Relations.
"These efforts are renewed attempts by the same faceless groups who since last year have made futile efforts to politicize ongoing Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency operations of the Nigerian Army and other security agencies,” it said.
The Army further went on to disparage and question the credibility of some letters addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan by concerned members of the Nigerian Army and copied to SaharaReporters. They attributed the failure of Operation Zaman Lafiya, the counter-insurgency operation in the Northeast, to corruption within the upper echelons of the military.
The army maintained that the most recent of these letters, published on January 31, was fraudulent. The letter, which was received by SaharaReporters editorial staff, made the case that Nigeria's army could not manage the insurgency crisis because of internal issues. It went further to encourage the United States and the United Nations to intervene.
"It will be recalled that late last year, the same group using the stolen identity of a serving Lieutenant Colonel, wrote a petition to the President making all sorts of unfounded allegations,” the press statement said, adding that the letter was “thoroughly investigated” by relevant security agencies.
"The findings indicated that the petition was indeed the handiwork of faceless and unpatriotic individuals who seek to distract the Nigerian Army," the statement said.
Sahara Reporters reacts, saying they reject the imputations contained in the press statement. "Reporting what we know and being disloyal are two different things. We are not disloyal to Nigeria, and we are passionate about the success of the Nigerian Army in its counter-terrorism efforts.
"We will continue to work with the Army to enlighten the public about its difficult counter-terrorism operation. On January 29, for instance — two days before the latest letter in reference came to light — Sahara Reporters invited General Olukolade to appear on SaharaTV as part of its election election coverage, an offer he accepted."
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