According to several sources close to the presidency, Alhaji Bichi was a compromise candidate between the preferred candidate of some powerful presidential aides and the choice of the president who was said to have preferred a retired military officer to head the nation’s secret service.
According to various sources that are in the know about the emergence of the new Director General of the DSS, he was neither in contention nor was he among the people being considered for appointment to replace the former acting Director General, Matthew Seiyefa.
“One powerful presidential aide wanted a serving director from one of the south south states to take over from the former Acting Director General. The president was said to have in mind a retired military personnel.
Several sources that spoke with Vanguard expressed surprise that Bichi was appointed because he is considered as one officer that is “politically naive” and not aligned to any of the several bases in the villa.
Speaking with Vanguard on the suitability or otherwise of the new DG, a serving officer of the Service who said he had worked with the new head described him as a “good officer” that the service needs at this point in time.
The officer, who does not want his name mentioned because he is still a serving member of the DSS told Vanguard that “professionally speaking, he is the best appointment for the service. He is not a political officer and will do his job professionally. We just hope that he will be able to stand up to politicians when it matters most”.
