Group describes armed forces bill as a plot to truncate democracy

The National Democratic Front (NDF) has described the armed forces bill before the national assembly as a plot to truncate the nation’s democracy.

According to the group, the bill sponsored by the lawmaker representing Abia south, Enyinnaya Abaribe, is targeted at destroying the “revered” armed forces.

In a statement signed by Abdulkadir Bolaji, its secretary-general, NDF said the move is unconstitutional, as it will whittle down the powers of the president who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Bolaji added that the bill should not even be given consideration in the first place.

NDF, therefore, urged Nigerians to rise in unity to condemn this attempt at destroying a critical national institution like the armed forces.

It further called on the national assembly leadership to ignore sentiments in this critical time and uphold the country’s democracy and peace .

The address below:

The attention of the National Democratic Front has been drawn to the presence of a bill seeking to establish the Armed Forces Service Commission to amongst a host of other things deliberate and decide on the composition and appointments of service chiefs in the country.

The bill seeking to establish the Armed Forces Service Commission is, at best, the handiwork of political merchants, warmongers, and separationist advocates. As such, the National Democratic Front wishes to put in in precise terms that this is nothing but an attempt to destroy our revered Armed Forces.

The National Democratic Front as an organization with expertise in documenting the democratic experiences in advanced and emerging democracies wishes to state that in the most advanced democracies in the world, there is no such arrangement in place that would take the powers out of the hand of the president as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

It is the inalienable constitutional rights of the President to oversee the affairs of the Armed Forces in the country, and this bill can thus be regarded as a coup against the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

We are appalled that the leadership of the Senate would allow such travesty to be discussed on the floor of the red chambers without taking the time to look at the antecedent of the sponsor of the bill.

We are also aware that seated in the hallowed chambers are other advocates of those that are hell-bent on destroying our revered Armed Forces so they can actualize their destabilization and disintegration plot against our dear country.

This fact is corroborated in that such a bill that seeks to promote the interest of a certain few have been slated for a second reading on the floor of the Senate. This is indeed despicable and might be an indication that the leadership of the Nigerian Senate might have been compromised in ways too numerous to mention.