President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the tenure of the director-general of the State Security Service, SSS, Yusuf Bichi.
Mr Bichi was first appointed by the president in September 2018, following the retirement of Matthew Seiyefa, who headed the secret agency in acting capacity from August 7, 2018 to September 14, 2018.
Confirming the development, the spokesman for the SSS, Nnochirionye Afunanya, tersely said “the DG’s tenure has been renewed”.
Insiders told this newspaper that when Mr Bichi’s tenure approaches an end, a number of candidates were proposed to the president for possible replacement, but the president rejected.
According to a credible presidency source, the president wanted Mr Bichi “to continue with the good job he is doing in intelligence gathering” instead of appointing a new hand to start learning the ropes afresh.
Mr Bichi, 66, attended Danbatta Secondary School, the Kano State College of Advanced Studies and the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he graduated with a degree in Political Science.
He began his career in the security division of the Cabinet Office in Kano, from where he joined the defunct Nigerian Security Organization, NSO, before it becomes the present-day SSS.
He was recalled by the president in September 2018 after retiring from service two years earlier to serve as the director-general of the service.
