Obanikoro Refutes APC's Allegations
Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, the Minister of State for Defence, on Thursday blasted the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the allegation made against him.
It would be recalled that the APC had earlier accused the minister of moving some ballot papers to Akure, Ondo State capital ahead Saturday's governorship election in Ekiti State. Speaking in Abuja at the official commencement ceremony of the Barracks Health Committee, an Armed Forces Programme on AIDS Control (AFPAC), a partnership between the Ministry of Defence and the United State Department of Defence, Obanikoro stated that he doesn't owe the APC any explanation neither did he need to seek its permission to move around the country.
“I am the Minister of State for Defence, and not in charge of electoral matters for goodness sake. Sometimes I think we take our politics too far. For anybody to make such a reckless allegation against my person, I think it is politics carried too far" Obanikoro said.
“As you can see, I am here today performing my official responsibility. If I have anything to do outside Abuja, I don’t need the permission of the APC to move around the country. I am a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and my focus is how to deliver the president’s agenda and not to play politics with everything. I go to wherever, on Monday I will be in Kaduna, if there is an election in Kaduna, will APC tell me not to go there and perform my responsibility. I don’t owe anyone explanation for my presence in any part of the country.
“Leaders who are shortsighted play politics with everything, leaders like us, we are not in this for personal reasons, we are in this because we believe we can serve the people and our focus is more on the future than on today,” the minister stated" he added.
The minister, who went ahead to explain the even of the day said, the inauguration was a part of the programmes aimed at flushing out HIV/AIDS from the country, as well as to educate Nigerians on the need to take ownership of the programme. He said it was his love for grassroots methods of fixing issues that made him attend the event, noting that the military's efforts towards the programme has also helped in reducing HIV/AIDS infection.
Col. Nurudeen Hussain, who gave the overview of the Barracks Health Committee Project, said it was aimed at stemming the tide of HIV epidemic and mitigate its impact on personnel. He said that the Ministry of Defence established the AFPAC in 1993 with the aim of developing and implementing sustainable prevention strategies with the military.
According to him, the prevalence of HIV in the military has reduced with 2.5 per cent compared to 4.1 per cent of national average as contained in the 2010 report of Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance (IBBS). He listed the 11 pilot barracks of the programme to include Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja, Comilla Barracks, Kaduna, Abakpa Cantonment, Enugu, Joe Akahan Barracks, Makurdi, Eburutu Barracks, Calabar, among others.
Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), who was represented by the Director of Medicals, Rear Admiral Sam Epelle, said sound health of troops as well as their families was important for successful execution of military operations.
Badeh added that with the current security challenge in the country, it was very important for soldiers to be medically fit in order for them to be able protect the country.
Source: Legit.ng
