Barely 48 hours after the resignation of the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mr. Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi as the new Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), to replace Yusuf Magaji Bichi.
The former DG was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari on 14 September 2018.
He had replaced Matthew Seiyefa.
A statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale,
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity), which announced this on Monday, also said Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed has been appointed as the new Director-General of the NIA.
It said Ambassador Mohammed has had an illustrious career in the foreign service since joining the NIA in 1995. He had served in various roles, culminating in his promotion to the rank of Director and his subsequent appointment as the head of the Nigerian mission to Libya.
The 1990 graduate of Bayero University, Kano, had served in North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, and at the State House, Abuja.
The new DSS Director-General, Mr. Adeola Ajayi, rose through the ranks to attain his current post of Assistant Director-General of the Service. He had, at various times, served as State Director in Bauchi, Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Kogi.
According to the statement, the new appointments follow the resignation of the previous NIA and DSS chiefs.
Abubakar, had in a surprise move on Saturday, announced his resignation after over six years at the helms, the DG NIA.
He made the move after what he said was a routine briefing of the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He was also appointed to the position by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2018.
Before his appointment as the substantive NIA DG, Abubakar, a retired career Foreign Service officer, was served as the Senior Special Assistant to the President (SSAP) on Foreign Affairs/International Relations.
He had also briefly served as Senior Adviser at the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), with headquarters in Ndjamena, Chad, before his appointment as SSAP.
Speaking on the resignation, he said President Tinubu has graciously accepted, saying that he took the decision for several reasons.
Asked why he was at the Presidential Villa, Abubakar said: “It’s a routine thing from time to time to brief Mr. President on situations, on issues, today is not an exception.
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“After the briefing, actually, I tendered my resignation and Mr. President graciously approved and accepted the resignation.”
Pressed to say why he resigned, the former NIA DG stated: “There are quite a number of reasons one will do that, some personal family issues, but nothing very serious, actually, and the friendship will continue.
“I discussed with Mr. President, he understood very well, and I promised to remain seized with issues and the security situations of the country.”
He thanked the Tinubu for giving the opportunity to serve two presidents.
The statement by the presidential spokesman said that President Tinubu expects that the new security chiefs will work assiduously to reposition the two intelligence agencies for better results and charges them to bring their experience to bear in tackling the security challenges bedeviling the country through enhanced collaboration with sister agencies and in surgical alignment with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
President Tinubu thanked the outgoing Directors-General of the two pivotal intelligence agencies for their services to the nation while wishing them success in their future endeavours.
and then