Ijaw youths caution against replacing Seiyefa as DSS boss

Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has warned against replacing the Acting Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Matthew Seiyefa, appointed less than a month ago. It alleged of a plot within the presidency to shop for a new chief executive from the northern region.

The group’s president, Eric Omare, said they are disturbed by media reports indicating an imminent change in leadership of the secret police.

He stated that IYC was in the know of a correspondence allegedly transmitted on August 30, 2018 by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, ordering Seiyefa to reverse some of the postings he had done and stay action until further directives.

Omare claimed that two options were being weighed. According to him, the Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau (rtd) was been pencilled down to replace Seiyefa or Lawal Daura may be reinstated.

His words: “While the IYC recognises the fact that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has the powers to hire and fire heads of security agencies in the country, we wish to state that the President also has a corresponding mandatory constitutional duty to ensure that such appointments are in line with the federal character principle.

“At as today, Mr. Seiyefa is one of the few heads of security agencies in Nigeria from the southern part of the country, hence it would amount to grave violation of the federal character principle of the constitution to replace Mr. Seiyefa who was appointed less than a month ago with a northerner as alleged.

“In addition, it is unthinkable and an affront to the sensibility of Nigerians for the presidency to contemplate sacking Mr. Seiyefa and reinstating Mr. Lawal Daura, the sacked SSS DG. This cannot happen in any sane society.

“It would interest Nigerians to know that at the time Mr. Daura was sacked as SSS DG, there were hundreds of Nigerians from different parts of the country languishing in detention without trial. And part of the first step Mr. Seiyefa took in compliance with his maiden media briefing to uphold the rule of law and reposition the agency was to start the process of releasing some of the persons illegally detained and reform the agency to achieve professionalism.

“These actions taken by the new SSS DG have earned the praise of Nigerians especially lovers of human rights and democracy.”

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has described the rumoured plots to Sack the Acting Director General of State Security Services (SSS) Bar. Matthew Seiyefa as corrupt and evil.

Also, IYC Worldwide in a statement in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State by its Secretary General, Alfred Kemepado, condemned the alleged plot, noting that Seiyefa got the job on merit, and should not be “replaced with nepotism as some are already promoting.”

It urged the DSS boss to shun desperate politicians “whose trade is to politicise the nation’s security system.”