In the last 10 months, no fewer than 70 middle cadre and junior cadre officers have resigned from the Department of State Services, DSS, forcing the management of the service to temporarily
place a moratorium on further voluntary resignation from personnel of
the service.
Information gathered at the headquarters of the Nigerian secret police
indicated that in the last 10 months, no fewer than 70 middle cadre
and junior cadre officers had resigned from the service, both from
the state commands and the national headquarters.
While some of the
officers resigned because they got better offers of employment from,
especially embassies of western nations, others resigned because of
unfavourable terms of employment they alleged had pervaded the
service since the take over of the present Director General of the
agency, Mallam Lawal Musa Daura.
One of the staff who resigned two
weeks ago said, “The condition of service is no longer
favourable. Some allowances that we were entitled to were stopped,
while others were cut in half without explanation.
“Most
importantly, operation allowances that we used to enjoy were stopped
without any reason. And we were still expected to put in our best. If
I cannot be treated well while in service, how will my family be
treated well when I am dead? It’s unfortunate that I had to
leave after so much has been invested in me by this country.’’
Another personnel who said he would also leave in the next few
months, told Vanguard that the condition of service was no longer
palatable.
“During the last dispensation, the service personnel
were well motivated to do their job. We embark on dangerous covert
assignments to keep the nation safe and all that we get in return is
insults and suspicion from the leadership of the service.
Fortunately, most of us are well trained so our services are needed
by those countries that helped in training us. We cannot be jobless.
If you get a better offer, it’s only natural to move” he said.
Another complain given by those who left is that “there appears to
be no future in remaining. When I joined the service, it was like one
family. There was no regional or ethnic segmentation. What we have
seen so far is perception of actions or inactions from the prism of
where one comes from. We were told during training that your
competence will make or mar you. That promise has been compromised.
It’s no longer interesting” she said. Vanguard gathered that at
the last count, five of those personnel who left were absorbed by the
American Embassy, ten by several banks and other financial
institutions as head of security, while about four have joined oil
companies. Worried by the steady resignation, the management of the
service issued a circular through departmental heads and state
Directors directing that voluntary resignation by service personnel
should no longer be accepted until further notice. No member of the
service was ready to speak on record and the service has no official
spokesman since the last one, Marylyn Ogar left service.
However, a
senior official of the service who pleaded anonymity claimed that the last dispensation exposed its personnel to
unnecessary wealth “which is capable of compromising operational
duties” “There is no way the present leadership would have
continued with the shenanigans that was perpetrated in the last
dispensation. Apparently the leadership wants to return the service
to its founding vision which is selfless service to the nation. It’s
obvious that those who cannot fit in would naturally leave” he
said.
It will be recalled that DSS 65 cadet officers of the service
who were undergoing training at the State Services Academy, SSA, in
Lagos, including a sibling of the sacked former spokes person of the
service, Marilyn Ogar were asked to leave in September last year,
few weeks to their passing out. No reason was given for their
dismissal which was contained in a letter by the Director General of
the Department of State Service, Lawal Daura.
A senior officer of the
service who is familiar with the matter told Vanguard then that their
sack was “inevitable” because their recruitment process was
“flawed.” He explained that “What happened was that recruitment
of most of these cadets did not follow due
process. They were brought into the service by politicians without
meeting the stringent requirements set by the service in recruiting
its personnel.
They were dumped on the service by politicians through
the active connivance of the past leadership of the service. We are
re-organising the service so we cannot afford to have partisan
political moles in our midst” the source said. The source who is a
senior operative of the service said the process of “weeding
undesirable elements” who found their way into the service was
ongoing.
The present leadership of the service is determined to
reposition the service to its professional roles. There is nothing
personal about the decision of the service. It was a very painful
decision in view of the investment made on them but it was a decision
that must be taken” he had said.
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