DSS boss was APC campaign committee chief on intelligence, PDP alleges
Daura
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rose from its National Working Committee (NWC) meeting yesterday asking President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately remove the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura, over his alleged partisan links with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At a press conference presided over by its Acting National Chairman, Uche Secondus, in Abuja, PDP alleged that Daura was not supposed to be appointed as director-general of DSS because he was the chairman of the Intelligence Committee of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation.
PDP alleged that the DSS has been harassing its members in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states over the election petition tribunal cases in those states. Secondus urged Buhari to stop the DSS from harassing electoral officers, cautioning that such could lead to break down of law and order.
Secondus’ address at the press conference reads in parts: “The NWC brings the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari to some disturbing development in the polity which, if not nipped in the bud, might significantly affect our democracy and stability as a nation negatively, and that is the growing and unwarranted intrusion of some overzealous security operatives on issues bordering purely on politics.
“In particular, the NWC wishes to draw the attention of the President to the continued intimidation, harassment as well as the hounding, arrest and detention of electoral officers and members of election tribunals by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and other PDP states.
“The NWC notes that this unfortunate development has been the case since the appointment of the new Director General of the DSS, Alhaji Lawal Musa Daura, whom we learnt was a critical intelligence stakeholder of the APC as a card-carrying member of that party during the campaigns. This is ungodly and unacceptable.
“We do hope that in his new job, the Director General of DSS is not mixing issues on the APC presidential candidate and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, hence the need for Mr. President to rein him in as the development is capable of eroding the cherished independence of the judiciary and the electoral commission, a sine qua non, for a virile democracy, which guarantees our unity and stability as a nation.
“Similarly, we urge Mr. President to take a critical look at the issue of the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for which our party has severally raised some salient issues on why she is not
suitable for that position. It is incontrovertible that Mrs. Zakari, by virtue of her blood relationship with Mr. President, cannot preside over the affairs of an Independent National Electoral Commission.
Nigeria belongs to all of us, irrespective of political, religious and ethnic affiliation, and as a responsible political party, we shall not fold our hands and watch while our nation drifts along dangerous line.”
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12 Comments
So they expect PDP to be appointed.Which party did Bello Fadile belong to when he was DSS Director?
The should bury their heads in shame.
Question is : if he is a card carrying member of any party and he is in a hierarchy of security operations wont his party affiliation warrant him to use security apparatus to intimidate opponents? Does the constitution allow this scenario?
It’s funny how the same party that took the nation to dangerous ground is now warning that Nigeria is drifting towards “dangerous lines”.
Since Buhari assumed power, it has become obvious that the enemy of the state is PDP. They are resisting change and through negative propaganda, they are busy trying to persuade Nigerians to accept their misrule as the best thing that ever happened in the country.
When APC was criticizing PDP it was not dangerous for Nigeria and they were not enemy of the state?it was not negative propaganda ?. l do not see any change in future but the old way again it will take eternity for nigeria come out from the mess because the youth who will flight for all has no moral to ask for the best. lt is through criticism that best comes out. if he is APC card carry . it wrong for him to be in that position l believed there is alot of nigerian out there who will do that job will
Olisa Metuh, who is Merelyn Ogah of DSS? She is a member of PDP. When she was abusing Buhari and others, where was Metuh? Metuh is the only PDP man standing and drowning. Does PDP want President Buhari to appoint Goodluck Jonathan as DG, DSS? Let them go and sleep. Nigeria is matching on without PDP. PDP should be thinking of returning our stolen money. What a shame!
There are three simple points that commenters shd take note of here:
1. Was Daura ACTUALLY an APC member?
2. Does the constitution allow a partisan person to hold such a sensitive post?
3. Is he actually harrassing and intimidating non-APC people?
The idea of democracy requires us to follow the Rule of Law. It is PDP’s job as the opposition to pressure the govt to do what is right. Since we know that the opposition often raises false alarms (everywhere in the world), we need the PDP to prove that the 3 questions above.
But what we cannot do, as some commenters are doing here, is to dismiss the PDP and to insult them for challenging the govt. Nigerians need to learn what democracy is all about.
What are these people talking about, elections that were clearly rigged in both states? Wike and the PDP in River state is a complete fraud perpetuated by the Woolen Mammoth of Okrika and her thugs.
The problem that this nation should bother about now is that we have a president that is not ‘made of democratic genes’, and who has a knack for military orders. In other words, Nigerians may talk, sing and shout and the man will simply ignore them. Remember the certificate saga. Recall, also, the issues of the president’s meddlesomeness in INEC with the appointment of an acting chair after Jega had already handed over. Even more lately, the NIMASA DG appointment reversal. I just pray it will not be late by the time those that should talk realize how the Nation had gone into civilian dictatorship
We are beginning to see one of the many reasons opposition parties cannot win elections in Africa. The things we accused PDP of is what APC is now doing to dig in and hold on to power by all means.
Buhari may do well to recover stolen funds but may not achieve much beyond that…we are seeing nepotism in appointments that will inhibit performance
So…if PDP made mistakes in the past, are we saying that it is very justified for APC to make bigger mistakes all in the name of holding on to power in the present? We better wake up and grow up!
I read PDP’s faux outrage and the comments here mostly with amusement …there is simply nothing to shout about and we the people have tuned out the usual hues and cries of PDP with every appointment of able bodied Nigerians that we voted massively for …with the scale of thievery, destruction and destitution that PDP brought onto Nigeria and Nigerians, no PDP apologist should be appointed into any position in the rescue mission that current administration has a strong mandate to bring about. Why the noise?!!!, APC presidential and VP candidates are now in power, so naturally the chief intelligence officer of the presidential campaign team should be DSS chief – Elections has consequences and the security of the President and by extensions Nigerians by mandate should be in the custody of trusted and loyal parties to the change and rescue mission. Actually anything less than that would be mass suicide that we can not afford – So PDP should shush it!
We will review and take appropriate action.