DSS Intimidating Electoral Officers In PDP States –Secondus

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News, Politics Wednesday, July 29th, 2015

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm over intimidation, harassment and arrest of electoral officers in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and other PDP states by the officers of the Department of State Services (DSS).

The PDP called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the DSS to order to avoid throwing the nation into chaos.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Acting Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus said the NWC at its meeting thoroughly considered a number of very important issues pertaining to the state of affairs in our nation.

“The NWC brings to 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 over-zealous 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,” he said.

Secondus also said the NWC noted that this unfortunate development has been the case since the appointment of the new Director General of the DSS, Alhaji Lawal Musa Daura, whom the party learnt was a critical intelligence stakeholder of the APC as a card-carrying member of that party during the campaigns, saying this was 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,” he said.

Secondus said the party urged the President to also take a critical look at the issue of the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as Acting Chairman of INEC for which the party has severally raised some salient issues 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 drift along dangerous line.

“Furthermore, the NWC commends and congratulates the PDP caucuses in the Senate and the House of Representatives on the smooth emergence of the Minority leadership in the National Assembly. We note that the process was without any interferences whatsoever from the leadership of our great party in keeping with the dictates of the independence of the legislature,” he stated.

He added that the NWC deliberated on the state of the party in Ekiti State and resolved that it only recognizes the state Executive led by Chief Idowu Faleye, saying that the NWC however summoned all critical stakeholders in the party administration in Ekiti State to a meeting with the national leadership on the issues in the state chapter.