Buhari cleared Osinbajo to fire Daura — Presidency

Yemi Osinbanjo (Acting Nigeria President)

By Henry Umoru, Emman Ovuakporie, Levinus Nwabughiogu, Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Omeiza Ajayi & Dirisu Yakubu ABUJA—THE Presidency, yesterday, said President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s termination of the appointment of Lawal Daura as the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina, who disclosed this while fielding questions from State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, chaired by the Acting President, said the Presidency was one.


He said: “What we will like to say for the umpteenth time is that the presidency is one. Whenever the President is proceeding on vacation he transmits power to the Vice President, who then becomes the acting president. On this occasion, he also did that. “So, the Acting President has all the powers of a president. Now, it’s a matter of decency and we know that the acting President is a decent man; there is no tussle for power, there is no battle between him and the president.

“When something like what happened yesterday will happen, there will be unanimity. There is no way there won’t be unanimity on that kind of decision. It’s not something that will be discussed with the press but know that there was unanimity in the decision.” Daura under house arrest Meanwhile, the Presidency, yesterday, said the sacked Director General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Lawal Daura will remain under house arrest.


A Presidency source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said shortly after the dismissal of the former DSS boss by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, he (Daura) was arrested right inside the Presidential Villa by men of the Nigerian Police Force. The source also confirmed that Daura was currently being detained in one of the presidential guest houses at Aso Rock. He said: “He will remain there until several investigations over certain issues bordering on him are concluded.”

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It was reliably gathered that when the sacked DSS DG finished his meeting with Osinbajo on Tuesday after the siege to the National Assembly, he did not follow the normal exit route. Rather he was said to have been secretly whisked away from the Acting President’s office by police officers, even without the knowledge of his aides that came with him. Besides being one of the favourite appointees of President Buhari, the sacked DSS boss was accused executing different controversial actions which the government believed were painting it in bad light. Among such actions were the raid in October on the homes of judges accused of corruption, who were later not found guilty and the damaging report against the confirmation of the EFCC boss.


Since Daura was booted out, the Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has been meeting with the Acting President. These came yesterday as the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, said it had investigated the circumstances surrounding Tuesday’s blockade of the National Assembly by security operatives, and accused Senate President Bukola Saraki of sponsoring the plot as part of his last-minute bid to halt his impeachment. However, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Senate President pooh-poohed the presidency and APC’s statements. While the PDP said the presidency and the ruling party were confused and overburdened by guilt, Saraki said he is a victim of Daura’s activities and could not have sponsored the siege to the National Assembly.


Going further, he dared the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and the senators elected on the party’s platform to impeach him if they can muster the legally required two-third majority. Calling for prosecution of the masterminds of the invasion and blaming ‘government within Buhari’s administration’ for the current crisis, he urged the president to sign the Electoral Amendment Bill into law. Saraki sponsored DSS’ invasion of NASS — APC Acting National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Yekini Nabena, in a statement in Abuja said: “Our investigations have now uncovered the sinister plot hatched by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki to foment violence in the legislative chamber all in a bid to stop his impeachment. “We are now aware that the timely intervention of the security operatives forestalled the planned violence, which could have led to possible deaths, injuries and destruction of property in the National Assembly on Tuesday.


“Why did the Senate President mobilise thugs to the National Assembly, who almost lynched Hon. E.J. Agbonayinma, the only APC federal lawmaker present but for the timely intervention of security operatives? “Why did the Senate President reconvene the National Assembly? Ostensibly as a pre-emptive move to frustrate federal lawmakers move to impeach him. Is it not curious that only Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, federal lawmakers were present in their numbers-some as early as 7am, while the majority of APC federal lawmakers were elsewhere holding a caucus meeting on the state of the nation?” The APC called “on security agencies and relevant bodies to, as a matter of urgency, probe these findings and take all necessary and legitimate action to stop these illegalities, which pose a direct and ominous threat to our democracy.


“As espoused in our earlier statement, whilst our contention with the leadership of the National Assembly, as currently constituted, is a matter of public record, we still believe that the legislature, as an independent arm of government, must be allowed free reign for vibrant contestation of ideas and values amongst its members within the context of their constitutional mandate and for the benefit of the Nigerian people. “Finally, we reiterate our call for the Senate President to resign from the position immediately as he no longer has the moral and legitimate ground to occupy that position as a member of the minority PDP going by the popular axiom, ‘the majority will have their way, but the minority will have their say”, the party added.