The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has insisted that the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura is a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and unfit to lead the nation’s intelligence agency.
The PDP hinged its argument on the allegation that being the relative of the President his sense of judgement would be clouded by sentiment and undue emotional attachment in executing the functions of the office.
This comes on the heels of denial by APC National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed on a live radio programme, Political Platform on Raypower FM on Thursday morning that Daura was neither an APC member nor was he appointed head of the party’s Intelligence Committee.
National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh said this while fielding questions from reporters on Thursday in Abuja.
The party said that it was the prerogative of the President to appoint anybody including his relation into any office like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA).
The opposition party argued that institutions as sensitive as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) demand the appointment of neutral persons whose actions would be guided by universal convention.
It also released pictures of Daura alongside other APC members and Muhammadu Buhari, prior to the May 29 inauguration.
Said Metuh: “We want to state it very clear that we stand by the issues of the national working committee by the and personally done by the national chairman himself.
“It is on record that he (Daura) is related to the President personally. He was the head of the Intelligence Committee and a member of the APC. That is not in contention.
“The President is at liberty to appoint anybody into any office. Using his discretion, he can as well appoint his relation to NNPC, NIMASA, NPA or any other ministry that he deems fit.
“There are sensitive positions that by their very nature required people who are independent. Swayed away from any special tie to the President. People who are qualified but not tied to him by any nexus or affinity with the President.
“We insist that the President in making those appointments should abide by universal conventions and democratic tenets and principles. It shouldn’t have anything to do with you.
“The same thing with security issue, the sentiment and the emotions of the relation will apply to the execution of security matter would be clouded by his sentiment and emotion”.
Metuh said the present call by the PDP is to make Nigerians see what happened in climes like Zimbabwe and Libya leading the countries into crises of both economic and socio-economic problems.
“This is exactly what has happened in Zimbabwe this is what was obtainable in Libya. Where relatives of the President Muamar Ghadaffi was appointed as chief of Army staff or Head of security. So they visited the people with unknown viciousness not seen. It should not happen in this country,” he posited.
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