2019: Tension In DSS as Presidency fear forces DG to reverse postings

There is palpable tension in the Department of State Security (DSS) as presidency pressure has reportedly forced the acting director-general (Ag DG) Matthew Seiyefa to reverse the reorganization he made on assumption of office.

Sources within the service stated that the presidency has been breathing down the neck of the new DG since he ordered some reorganizations and postings in the DSS which some presidency cabal are said to have viewed to be inimical to the president’s 2019 re-election bid.

Seiyefa was appointed by acting President Yemi Osinbajo In the wake of the sack of the former DG Lawal Daura over the role he played in the invasion of the National Assembly complex by officials of the DSS.

No fewer than 30 senior directors and management staff, had been moved around, some outside Abuja, and other brought to Abuja. But sources claim that the officials who had been moved to other states and Abuja, were on Monday ordered to return to their former posts until further notice.

The latest reversal of the postings by Seiyefa is coming on the heels of reports that a powerful official in the presidency had been unhappy with the changes he made without consulting him.

The official was said to have queried Seiyefa over the reorganisations, but that the Acting DG told him that the then Acting President Osinbajo was in the know of the moves.

Under the law establishing the DSS, cited as Nigerian Security Agencies Act of June 5, 1998, the appointment and movement of staff of the agency are supposed to be sanctioned by a principal officer appointed by the Presidency. The law however, did not specify which principal officer it should be.

A source however revealed that the presidency official is unhappy with the Ag DG’s re-organisation because he is convinced that the postings mainly affected personnel considered loyal to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, and that their postings will impact negatively on the president’s chances in 2019 election.

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He said, “All they had to do was convince him (presidency staff) that the DG was politically biased, and was busy removing APC loyalists and replacing them with supporters of a rival political party. Once that was achieved, the powerful persons felt that it was necessary to stop Seiyefa without even looking at the merit of that allegation.

“The implication of what they have succeeded in doing is that the service has now been hijacked by politicians and it is very dangerous for the operatives, who are supposed to be pure and non-partisan professionals in the discharge of their duties to Nigeria,” the source said.

This has raised tension within the service as many are said to be dissatisfied with the development, even as there are fears whether or not Seiyefa who has less than a year left with the service would be allowed to serve out his time, or relieved before the 2019 elections.

Meanwhile, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to resist pressure from some quarters in the Presidency to sack the Ag DG, Seiyefa, adding, that such persons calling for the removal of Seifa, who hails from Bayelsa State, were the real enemies of his administration, democracy and the collective quest for equity.

IYC Secretary-General, Alfred Kemepado, in a statement, said: “The emergence of Seiyefa gave the Southsouth and the Niger Delta a sense of belonging. He has also made us proud because he has performed very well. Sacking him will spell doom for the government and further reinforce the allegations of nepotism against the government.

“We, therefore, describe the rumoured plots to sack Seiyefa as corrupt and evil. Seiyefa was nominated for the top job based on merit and achievements in service and that should not be replaced with nepotism as some quarters are already promoting.

“We call on Seiyefa to shun desperate politicians whose trade is to politicise the nation’s security system. It is becoming obvious that desperate politicians are working tirelessly to thwart the noble achievements of the new DG especially in his reorganisation of the service to fit into its founding principles and values as expected in a democratic society.

 

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