The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, ADC-PCC, has alleged that a serving director of the Department of State Services, DSS, is holding the position of Deputy Director of Security and Intelligence in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council.
The council described the alleged involvement as an act of partisanship and called on the DSS Director-General, Oluwatosin Ajayi, to investigate the matter.
The Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC-PCC, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the allegation on Wednesday during an appearance on Sunrise, a Channels Television programme.
Ologbondiyan said the DSS director’s alleged membership of the ruling party’s campaign structure raised concerns about the neutrality of the security agency.
“The DSS director-general should investigate the allegation and find out whether any serving officer is involved in partisan political activities, particularly in the APC campaign council,” he said.
Ologbondiyan maintained that although security operatives were expected to monitor political activities and provide protection for candidates, they should not become members of political campaign organisations.
“There is no DSS operative that is serving that is on our list of campaign membership. You will definitely have a DSS operative who is keeping watch over our candidates. But when a DSS operative who is expected to provide security becomes a member of a campaign council, he has become partisan,” he said.
He added that the alleged involvement of the director could expose the officer to political influence and compromise the agency’s neutrality.