Nigeria’s acting President, Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday sacked the country’s Director-General of the Department of State Service, Lawal Daura.
Lawal Daura is head of Nigeria’s domestic spy agency. Osinbajo’s spokesman Laolu Akande confirmed the sacking on Twitter.
No reason was given however for the decision. But Daura has been implicated in Tuesday’s blockade of the country’s Parliament house.
The parliament house was however re-opened after a brief blockade by security forces. The armed men prevented lawmakers and others from entering the building for up to an hour.
Local media reports that lawmakers, fear the lock-down is part of an attempt to force a change of the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Acting President Osinbajo is reported to have condemned the incident and said it was not sanctioned by the presidency.
Possible reason for blockade?
Last week the President of Nigeria’s senate defected to the opposition.
Bukola Saraki left the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) to the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
This was seen as a major blow to President Muhammadu Buhari’s bid for re-election in next year’s polls.
Saraki’s defection follows similar move by more than twelve Nigerian senators from the ruling APC last month.
AgP Yemi Osinbajo has directed the termination of the appointment of the DG of the DSS, Mr. Lawal Musa Daura.
— Laolu Akande (@akandeoj) August 7, 2018
Another 37 members of the house of representatives also announced their defection from APC.
These defections have heightened political tension in the country with the President out of the county on holidays.
A PDP lawmaker Tajudeen Yusuf told the Punch that “We call on Nigerians to rise and oppose this assault on the National Assembly. Democracy is about expressing diverse views.
“At the end, majority will carry the day, while the minority would have had their say.”
75-year-old President Buhari is struggling to deal with his country’s economic crisis as millions remain jobless. He has also failed to contain ethnic clashes and the insurgency of militant group Boko Haram.
Source: Africafeeds.com
