The
Department of State Service has warned the Rivers State Governor,
Rotimi Amaechi, and other politicians against inciting and unguarded
statements ahead of the 2015 general elections.
The Service frowned on the statement
credited to the governor, in which he said that soldiers had the right
to protest if their welfare was not taken care of.
The service said that his utterance was meant to undermine the Federal Government.
Amaechi, who is the Director-General, All
Progressives Congress’ Presidential Campaign Organisation, had said,
“The challenge of the Nigerian military is not funding but corruption.
Now they want to kill some 50 officers for their own failure to equip
them properly to fight terrorism. The soldiers have the right to protest
the Federal Government’s failure to fully equip them.”
But the DSS, in a statement by its Deputy
Director, Public Relations, Marilyn Ogar, on Monday in Abuja, said the
governor’s statement was meant to achieve a selfish desire against the
collective well-being of the nation.
She warned that it would not condone acts that were inimical to the general interest of the nation.
“Political office-holders must not hide
under the privileges of their offices to perpetrate and encourage the
commission of acts inimical to the general interest of this nation, as
this will henceforth not be tolerated,” the statement said.
The DSS Spokesperson said that such
similar unguarded statements by politicians in the past had encouraged
violence that resulted in the loss of innocent lives and property.
The statement partly read, “The attention
of the Department of State Service has been drawn to inciting and
unguarded statements and utterances by some politicians ahead of the
2015 general elections.
“Of particular interest is the statement
of a serving governor, calling on men of the armed forces to rise up in
protest against constituted authority, with the intent to undermine the
government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“This statement therefore serves as the
last warning to all those seeking to truncate the nation’s democracy by
their careless and obviously mischievous utterances and actions to
desist and retrace their steps immediately.
“This Service and indeed all security
agencies will not rest on their oars. They are committed to the
successful conduct of the 2015 general elections in Nigeria.”
-PunchNg