Arrest plotters of interim government – APC, PDP charge DSS

The presidential campaign councils of the All-Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party have challenged the Department of State Services to get tough with plotters of the interim national government.

The councils, in separate interviews on Wednesday in Abuja, said the push for the ING was unconstitutional, adding that the plotters should be arrested.

They spoke against the backdrop of a statement issued by the security agency that some people were plotting the ING.

The DSS had earlier on Wednesday raised the alarm over a plot by some Nigerians to thwart the May 29 inauguration of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

The DSS, in a statement in Abuja by its Spokesman, Dr Peter Afunanya, alleged that those behind the plot planned to undermine civil rule and foist an interim government on the country.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had on March 1 declared Tinubu the winner of the February 25 presidential election. The APC presidential candidate polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who got 6,984,520 votes and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi that had 6,101,533 votes.

A day after the result was declared, Atiku and Obi at separate press conferences on March 2 rejected the outcome on the grounds that the election was rigged.

Also, a former Anambra State Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife, stated that Tinubu would not be sworn in as President.

Speaking on Channels Television on March 23, the vice-presidential candidate of the LP, Datti Baba-Ahmed, said the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, must not swear in Tinubu on May 29.

Some protesters under the aegis of the Free Nigeria Movement on Tuesday last week, asked the President, Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to annul the February 25 presidential election and set up an interim government.

But hundreds of pro-Tinubu protesters, under the aegis of ‘The Natives’, stormed the streets of Abuja on Monday, warning against the imposition of an ING.

However, in the statement it issued on Wednesday, the DSS said it had identified some key players in the plot for an ING.

It stated, “The service considers the plot, being pursued by these entrenched interests, as not only an aberration but a mischievous way to set aside the constitution and undermine civil rule as well as plunge the country into an avoidable crisis. The illegality is totally unacceptable in a democracy and to the peace-loving Nigerians.’’

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The security agency alleged that the plot was taking place after the peaceful conduct of the elections in most parts of the country.

It added, “The planners, in their many meetings, have weighed various options, which include, among others, to sponsor endless violent mass protests in major cities to warrant a declaration of State of Emergency. Another is to obtain frivolous court injunctions to forestall the inauguration of new executive administrations and legislative houses at the federal and state levels.

“The DSS supports the President and Commander-in-Chief in his avowed commitment to a hitch-free handover and will assiduously work in this direction. It also supports the Presidential Transition Council and other related bodies in the states.’’

The DSS added that it would collaborate with PTC and other law enforcement agencies to ensure seamless inaugurations in May.