- Timi Frank criticizes DSS as Buhari seeks Senate’s approval for Data Protection Bill.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) refutes claims of telephone tracking and leakage made against it in the media.
According to Reuben Muoka, NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, the commission has been receiving numerous inquiries from the media regarding allegations of telephone tracking and leakage made by some individuals and groups on social and traditional media.
NCC denies these allegations completely and states that it is not authorized under the Nigerian Communication Act (NCA) 2003 and other relevant laws to track or leak telephone conversations of anyone. The commission further states that it has reported these serious allegations to appropriate security agencies for investigation and necessary action.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the commission denies these allegations and advises the public to disregard them,” it added.
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Timi Frank, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has criticized the leakage of a conversation between the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church Worldwide.
Frank, who is from Bayelsa, released a statement yesterday in which he called the act highly unprofessional and partisan, allegedly perpetrated by the Department of State Services (DSS).
He suggested that the DSS has become an intelligence arm of the APC and urged a complete overhaul of the security organization. Frank also urged the DSS to restore the lost confidence of Nigerians in its leadership by taking action.
He said: “It is worrisome when the most sophisticated security agency in the country descends into the arena of politics to favour the ruling party.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, requesting that the Nigerian Data Protection Bill be considered and approved by the Senate. The President’s letter, which was read on the floor of the red chamber, cites Section 58 (2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. The Nigerian Data Protection Bill aims to provide a legal framework for the safeguarding of personal information and the creation of the Nigerian Data Protection Commission, which will regulate laws concerning personal information.
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In addition to this, the President has also written separate letters to the Senate requesting the approval of Abdul Abubakar’s re-appointment as a Non-Executive Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for a second and final term, and the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force College Training School and Institution.
Furthermore, President Buhari has sought the Senate’s approval for the reimbursement of Plateau and Borno states, in the amounts of N6.6 billion and N3.8 billion, respectively, for road projects executed on behalf of the Federal Government. The reimbursement is to be made through the issuance of promissory notes.
