By Kingsley Nwezeh
As the Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Mr Yusuf Magaji Bichi, marks three years in office, a group, Society for Good Governance (SGG), has identified infrastructure development and capacity building of personnel as the hallmarks of his administration.
The group, in a statement, showered encomiums on the head of the security agency, saying he had led a transformational leadership.
A statement signed by its National Coordinator, Joe Oku, said the DG, had, in three years, embarked on
acquisition of new structures and extensive renovation of dilapidated ones to address staff accommodation challenges across the state, landscaping and beautification of the National Headquarters, sponsorship of local and international training programmes for personnel to enhance capacity to surmount emerging threats.
Other areas of improvement include creation of new departments and expansion of portfolios to accommodate officers, replacement of operational vehicles for all directors and their deputies, equipping and renovating offices with modern furniture and introduction of biometric documentation systems and IT facilities for various operational purposes.
“Attraction of projects from strategic stakeholders-for example, the NNPC is building state-of-the-art health facilities at the service’s medical center at VGC, Lubric Construction Company (LCC) is constructing the DSS Museum of National Security as part of Corporate Social Responsibility”, it said.
The group also listed sponsorship of local and international training programmes for personnel to enhance capacity to surmount emerging threats, formation of Special Intervention Squad (SIS) and tactical teams to respond to emergencies as well as continuous expansion of the service health facility and purchase of modern medical equipment for enhanced staff welfare.
The DG, the group said, had sustained collaboration with sister agencies as well as effective collaboration with strategic partners, strengthen relationship with the media, NGOs, CSOs and other critical stakeholders.
It said Bichi, in his three years in the saddle, embarked on the formation of DSS Readers’ Club to deepen knowledge and enhance analytical capabilities of staff.
“His ingenuity is unmatched as his dedication to duty and nation are unparalleled. The service under his leadership, has continued to record successes.
“His direction, focus, motivation, wisdom, empathy, intelligence, honesty, integrity, confidence and humility have combined to make this possible”, it said.
