The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Olufemi Oluyede, has declared full support for the early voting bill introduced by the Senate for military and security personnel deployed during elections under the proposed Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Speaking at a meeting at the Defence Headquarters on Thursday, led by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’adua, the army chief described the bill as a noble idea and one that is long overdue.
He said, “Our role during elections is to create a secure environment for Nigerians to vote. Ironically, many of us in uniform hardly get the opportunity to vote ourselves.”
Reflecting on his own experience, the COAS revealed that in his entire military career, he had only been able to vote twice due to operational deployments during elections.
He lauded the urgency of the bill, which also proposes that early voting begin seven days before the main elections. He assured lawmakers that the Nigerian Army would provide full support for the passage and implementation of the bill.