Military authorities have assured Nigerians that no group can interfere with the 2023 elections in the South East region of the country. Gen. Lucky Irabor, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) gave the assurance on Monday during the 25th edition of the Scorecard Series of President Muhammadu Buhari which also featured the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (Rtd.).
He said, “An operation is being conducted in the South East and it is geared towards bringing some sanity to bear in the entire South East and to ensure that the citizens have the confidence to go out and exercise their franchise on the 25th of February and the 11th of March 2023.
“So, be rest assured and I would like to enjoin you journalists to spread the message that elections will hold in all parts of Nigeria and especially in the South East.
“The Armed Forces is working in concert with the police and other security agencies to ensure that the menace of criminalities from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) is eliminated.”
Similarly, the Minister of Defence also insisted that the Armed Forces has pushed out Boko Haram elements from all the local government areas in the North East, adding that no part of the country is under the control of any terrorist group.
The CDS added, “Whereas no territory is under the control of any of those criminal elements, operations must continue because there are a few stragglers among them. The final cleansing is ongoing to clear the remnants of terrorists in the northeast or any part of Nigeria.
“There is no territory of Nigeria, let alone the North East that is under the control of any of those criminal elements. But that does not imply that they are not still making attempts to ensure that their last vestiges remain, which of course, we are holding onto to ensure that they don’t exist.”