Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has dissociated himself from alleged inciting comments against President Muhammadu Buhari by his social media aide, Bodmas Kemepadei, saying the views expressed were his personal opinion.
Speaking on behalf of the governor,
Mr Kola Oredipe, Director, New Media, Bayelsa State Government, refuted the comments in a statement in Yenagoa.
Oredipe noted that Kemepadei lacked the powers and authority to speak for Diri.
Kemepadei is being interrogated by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly making unpalatable comments on the social media.
Oredipe noted that the author acted on his own violation as the views he expressed had nothing to do with the Bayelsa State Government or the governor.
“Our attention has been drawn to the arrest of Mr. Bodmas Kemepadei by the Department of State Services (DSS) over alleged inciting posts on the social media against President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Let it be clear that Kemepadei lacks the authority to speak directly for His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, Governor of Bayelsa State.
“Kemepadei, a blogger, was appointed into the Bayelsa State Government New Media Team as a Special Assistant on New Media and works under the direct supervision of the Director, New Media, who co-ordinates all government new media activities.
“He was, therefore, neither speaking on behalf of the Governor nor the state government in his video that went viral.
“Kemepadei, in the said video and other posts, must have obviously spoken as a private citizen and not as a government official because the Governor could never have authorised such comments against Mr. President,” Oredipe said.
