Concerns as DSS directors remain in office after retirement

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

There are concerns among workers and officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) following discoveries that a good number of its directors have refused to vacate their offices despite retiring from the service.

Such practice of remaining in office after retirement was said to have become common among DSS directors against the public service rule.

It was found that the development was causing internal wrangling in DSS as workers and officials of the Nigerian security outfit were said to be demotivated and angry about it.

For instance, three notorious cases of Adeleke S. Ayodele, Mohammed Al Hassan Ndatsu, and Kamba Damana were given as directors, who chose to retain their offices years after their retirement.

Records showed that Adeleke S. Ayodele was enlisted in the service in August 1984 and retired in 2019 after 35 years of service.

People were, however, surprised that Ayodele is still serving as the Commandant, National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) owned by the DSS.

Another case is that of Mohammed Al Hassan Ndatsu, who was enlisted in the service in October 1988 and retired in 2020 after turning 60 years old.

But Ndatsu is still serving as the State Director of Security (SDS) in Kano State.

Also, another case of Kamba Damana, who joined the service in April 1990 and retired on 25th June 2020 was said to be baffling as he continues to serve as the director of the DSS Ikoyi Office.

It was gathered that the practice had portrayed the DSS in a bad light as it was said to be stifling growth, promoting mediocrity and demotivating workers.

“This is a flagrant abuse of internal processes, laid-down procedures and rules of engagement. They are doing it without anybody challenging them.

“It is killing the morales of other officers, who are aspiring to reach the pinnacle of their careers in the service”, one of the officials, who spoke in confidence said.

Some of the officers called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to compel the DSS management to sanitise its records by immediately sending the retired directors out of the system.

They also demanded that all the salaries and allowances paid to them from the year of their retirement till date should be retrieved to act as a deterrent for others plotting to do the same.