NNPP accuses DSS of retaining Kano director in alleged plot to rig guber poll for Ganduje

The Department of State Services (DSS) has been accused by the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) on Wednesday of conspiring with Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to rig the state’s governorship elections on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters in Kano, Dr. Bappa Abdullahi Bichi, who was speaking on behalf of the party’s senior stakeholders, claimed that Mr. Mohammed Alhassan, the state director of the DSS in Kano, was the plot’s arrowhead.

Alhassan was supposed to have retired from the military, but Bichi claimed he was illegally kept on to carry out a hatchet job for his longtime friend.

Bichi said “We have written to Mr. President. We have writtewn to the DG of DSS. We have written to all heads of security agencies and Service Chiefs, drawing attention to this anomaly. No officer is indispensable. The Director has outlived his service year by over a year. His continuous stay in Service is both illegal and immoral. Moreso, he is being kept with the ulterior motive of doing a very unpatriotic hatchet job of subverting the will of the people of Kano State. He is being kept to rig election. He is being kept to undermine democracy.”

READ ALSO:NNPP sacks Katsina deputy gov candidate, executive members

The NNPP spokesman further alleged that “one of the Chief architect that anchored the subversion of the will of the Kano people in 2019 is the long-term ally and the closest family-friend of the Ganduje family, who, at the request of Ganduje was posted to Kano as the DSS Director of Kano State in 2017. His relationship with Ganduje started way back in the early 90s when Ganduge was Sole Administrator of Gwagwalada Area Council in the FCT and Mr. Alasan was then incharge of SSS at the same Local Government.

“Mr. Ganduje officially requested that Mr. Alasan be posted to Kano and even when all State Directors have been redeployed to other states, Mr. Alasan has been kept in Kano for over half a decade without redeployment. We are even more concerned that over a year ago, Mr. Alasan was due to retire from the Service and proceed on retirement but Mr. Ganduje wrote officially, again, to the Director General of DSS, pleading that Mr. Alasan be retained in the Service and be kept in Kano until after the 2023 general elections. We asked the question why?”

He said that DSS in Kano under the leadership of Mohammed Alhassan “have compromised their oath of service, and we have equally drawn the attention of other sister agencies to their plot.”

Bichi appealed to “Mr. President to intervene and cause the DG of DSS to allow Mr. Alasan to proceed on his retirement. He ought to have retired 15 months ago! For crying out loud, why are you keeping him? Is he the only person in the Service? Why are you stifling the growth of other officers by retaining someone who ought to have retired?”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now