DSS to Disburse N50,000 Cash Support to 7,774 Vulnerable Nigerians

In an unprecedented non-kinetic approach to national security management, the Director General of the Department of State Services,  Adeola Ajayi, has identified a total of 7, 774 poorest and most vulnerable citizens across the country for a cash donation of N50,000 each.

Investigation revealed that the DG’s gesture is intended to support ongoing efforts by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration and the respective state governments to cushion the effects of the economic reforms in the country.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, sources in the know revealed that some security heads, senior government officials, religious leaders, traditional rulers, as well as respected community leaders, were tasked with the responsibility of identifying ten “poorest of the poor” from each of the 774 local governments in the country.

Each of the beneficiaries across the 36 states of the Federation is to get N50, 000, as part of measures by the Service to win the hearts and minds of the less privileged, and also give them a sense of belonging.

The gesture, being one of a kind, is estimated to gulp a total of N387, 200,000.

Some beneficiaries of the largesse in one of the states in the South- West, who spoke in confidence with this reporter, commended the DG DSS for the show of empathy and love for the poor, asking God to grant him long life in good health of mind body.

A beneficiary, who gave his name simply as Pa Segun, said: “As a poor old man in my 80s, I didn’t know that a day will come when authorities will acknowledge my situation, and bless me this way.

“Those that chose me were people I have never met in my life, and what they said to me was that, ‘the Director General of the DSS loves you, and wants to give you something to support your family.

“I was very emotional when I received N50, 000. I thought I was dreaming, and needed somebody to wake me up”, he disclosed.

Another beneficiary, who spoke through her son, said: “Help me thank the good man in Abuja that sent people to identify with us at a time we did not know where our only meal for the day will come”.

Also available to express her joy was a widow with six children, who shed what appeared as tears of joy, after receiving the cash gift.

“See, my son, this thing that just happened is unbelievable. I did not know that any government or individual will remember a poor widow like me, who has been suffering since the death of my husband.

“May God bless the big man (DG), who chose to put smiles on the faces of the poor. May God bless him and his office.

“Every day of our lives, my children and I will keep praying for him, because he gave us hope at a time we had given up and waiting for when we will go (die)”.

Some highly-placed establishment sources, who confirmed the development, said it is DG Ajayi’s soft approach to security management.

“The DG DSS, being an exceptional intelligence officer, and consummate administrator, believes that beyond the guns, lie the kinetic approach to addressing the security challenges in parts of the country.

“He knows that enemies of the state, including subversive elements, explore and exploit poverty as a means of radicalising vulnerable members of the public.

“Therefore, reaching out to the poorest of the poor, as he is currently doing across all the 36 states of Nigeria, and even the FCT, is a deliberate effort towards winning their hearts and minds”, a reliable source confided in this platform.

Another source, who spoke in similar vein, said: “If you have been following the trajectory of the current DG since his well-deserved appointment in 2024 by President Bola Tinubu, you will discover that he is a welfarist who cares about the needs of personnel of the Service.

“Don’t also forget that he is so compassionate that he ordered the comprehensive medical treatment of a victim of an accidental shooting, which preceded his appointment.

“He demonstrated that kind heartedness some months ago, when he directed the payment of a pending judgement debt to a man in millions of naira, with additional pay for the delay.

“Let me conclude by letting you know that the leadership style of the DG is so exceptional that it has continued to inspire absolute staff/personnel loyalty, with enhanced productivity and growth”.