Interior Minister keeps over 20 security personnel, aides

Contrary to President Muhammadu Buhari’s body language that he would not run a wasteful government, with a pledge to cut down on aides and personnel, The AUTHORITY on Sunday findings have revealed that some members of his cabi¬net would have nothing to do with it.
The findings show that former Chief of Army Staff under Presidents Umaru Yar Adua, late, and Good¬luck Jonathan and current Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, moves around with no fewer than 20 security operatives and personal assistants at¬tached to him, apart from those permanently attached to his personal residences.
The AUTHORITY on Sunday findings showed a breakdown of the personnel to be about five Department of State Services, DSS opera¬tives, four policemen, four Nigeria Immigration Service border guards in camouflage, Civil Defence officers and Nigeria Prisons Service personnel.
Interestingly, this retinue of security and officials aides is larger than his immedi¬ate predecessor, Abba Moro, who made do with less than 12 security personnel at¬tached to him, consisting of two DSS operatives, NIS and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps personnel.
In the last weeks of 2015, Dambazau toured the secu¬rity agencies under his min¬istry to acclimatise with their heads, and moved around in two brand new 2015 Toyota Land Cruiser Sport Utility Vehicles, each of which costs over $80,000, a Toyota Prado SUV used by the DSS operatives and two police patrol pick-up vans.
Against the backdrop of Buhari’s vow to run a lean government in the light of the current tough economic realities in the country, checks indicate that the minister also has three personnel including a retired military officer as his Chief of Staff.
The president had forbid¬den his ministers from using large convoys, stressing that a large retinue of aides and protocol staff would amount to a waste of scarce resources.
He had literarily, placed a ban on the use of large convoys and retinue of aides during a two-day retreat for ministers-designate at the Presidential Villa on November 6, 2015.
Speaking on the issue recently, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige had said, “yes, we will be running a lean economy because we are going to block areas of leak¬ages. Retinue of aides, protocol staff and large convoys of cars are things that will not fly in this administration”.
When asked for comment on the high number of security personnel attached to the interior minister, the Force spokesman, Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Olabisi Kolawole said only one police orderly was attached to the minister.
“I can only speak on the policemen working with him. I know that only one police orderly was attached to him,” she said.
When contacted to react on the issue, the spokesman of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Ekpedeme King, said he was not competent to comment on the security arrangement of the Interior Minister, pointing out that the Service is only an agency under the ministry.