The Arewa Youth Federation (AYF) has distanced itself from the call for the resignation of the director -general of Department of State Services (DSS) Malam Yusuf Magaji Bichi.
The coalition, the umbrella body of youths from the 19 northern states which threw its weight behind the DSS boss and his team, condemned the purported call by a group it described as a faceless forum pretending to be from the region to demand the resignation of Bichi.
The national coordinator, AYF, Malam Kabir Muhammad, who described allegations levelled against Bichi as flimsy and unfounded, said as a staunch advocate of good governance and a people with conscience, the coalition cannot fold its arms and allow paid agents who can do anything for money, including selling their birthrights, rubbish the leadership of the DSS and his workforce.
The forum, in a statement signed by Kabir Muhammad, accused cronies of the detained governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele and several others being investigated of sponsoring the campaign of calumny against Bichi as well as the call for his resignation.
The statement said; “Let it be abundantly clear that the Arewa Civil Society Organisation does not exist, neither does it have the mandate of the people it pretends to represent. Those behind this faceless organisation are nothing but thugs under the payroll of some unpatriotic elements. As the authentic representatives of our people, we distance ourselves from their threats. The DSS boss and his team are doing a nice job and they have our backing to do more exploits.”
In countering the allegations leveled against Bichi and the DSS, the group said as the security agency saddled with the responsibility of ensuring national security, the DSS had always acted in an ethical and professional manner while conducting its operations, adding that those trying to blackmail the DSS are agents of corrupt entities bent on jeopardising Nigeria’s national security.
The group urged the public to disregard the antics of fake CSOs working for the embattled former Governor of the CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele who has been sponsoring spurious media campaigns to blackmail security agents and divert their attention from prosecuting him for his excesses while in office.
