Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives from Ekiti State have strongly condemned last Friday’s invasion of the State House of Assembly by armed men of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The lawmakers, while describing the invasion as “criminal desecration of the scared hallowed chamber which must be condemned by all lovers of democracy in the world,” warned the DSS to stick to its constitutional roles of protecting Nigeria against domestic threats.
According to them, DSS under President Muhammadu Buhari has taken over the duties of the police, military, civil defence, immigration and other security agencies.
In a release issued on Monday by the House of Representatives members, Kehinde Agboola (Ekiti North I), Thaddeus Aina (Ekiti North II), Ayo Oladimeji (Ekiti Central I), Olamide Oni (Ekiti Central II), Segun Adekola (Ekiti South I) and Akin Awodumila (Ekiti South II), they reiterated their support for the State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose.
The statement described Fayose him as “the emerging face of opposition politics in Nigeria.”
They also accused the Presidency of using the DSS to torment the government and people of Ekiti State because of Governor Fayose’s critical stance on the Buhari’s government, saying; “Any attempt to muscle opposition in a democracy is a direct invitation to anarchy.”
The statement reads, “We condemn in strong terms, last Friday’s invasion of the Ekiti State House of Assembly complex and we call on other lovers of democracy in the country to rise against this emerging tyranny which is threatening to jeopardize democratic governance in the country.
“Most importantly, we wish to state expressly that the DSS under President Buhari is becoming an instrument of political oppression, such that the agency has abandoned its constitutional responsibilities in pursuit of matters that should be handled by the police and other security agencies.
“For instance, what is the business of the DSS with election funding? Is the DSS now INEC, EFCC or ICPC? Is the DSS the police that it is now arresting people for mere political disagreements?
“We even read that the DSS is investigating academic qualifications of some members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly and political appointees and we don’t understand the relationship between the internal security of Nigeria that the DSS is to protect and academic qualifications of political appointees.
“The constitutional mandate of the DSS is security matters and intelligence gathering for the protection of senior government officials like the President, Vice President, Governors, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and others. When did DSS become investigators of financial crimes and election disputes?
“We, therefore, wish to warn that Ekiti State should not be included in the comity of PDP controlled States that the APC led Federal Government intends to destabilise because the people, who overwhelmingly elected Ayodele Fayose as their governor are always ready to defend their choice.
“We also wish to express our solidarity with the State House of Assembly and the 26 PDP members. They should know that they are not alone in this battle to sustain democracy in Ekiti State. We are with them,” the statement added.
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