PDP Governors Demand Appointment Of New Police Boss
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, want President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly convene a consultative meeting of the Nigeria Police Council to appoint a new Inspector General of Police, given the worsening state of insecurity in the country.
The governors made the recommendation at a virtual meeting held to deliberate on the state of the nation, particularly in the spheres of security, economy, and other issues of national importance.
The meeting which held under the auspices of the PDP Governors’ Forum, also called on the federal government to consider decentralising the Nigeria Police Force as well as the establishment of state police as measures to stem the tide of insecurity across the country.
In a communiqué signed by the chairman of the forum and governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, the governors noted that the “Nigeria Police Force as an institution is a common services agency for all tiers of government in Nigeria; that is why the Nigeria Police Council is made up of President as chairman, 36 State governors, chairman of Police Service Commission and Inspector General of Police as members.
“The council is the constitutionally designated forum for discussion of security matters in the country, particularly with respect to policing.
“It is worthy of note that the newly introduced community policing infrastructure is already being implemented more in breach.
The current Nigeria Police Act envisaged that community policing should serve as a decentralised measure of grassroots policing and various roles were assigned to various parties, including the governors of the states.
“Unfortunately, in the constitution and operationalization of the community policing activities in the various states so far, partisanship has taken over the recruitment process.
‘We no longer have faith in the neutrality and capacity of the community policing system to serve the purposes envisaged under the new police Act, we, therefore, call on the Police authorities to sanitize the system.”
The meeting further deliberated on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill pending before the National Assembly and urged federal legislators to expedite action in the passage of the bill, saying it “is necessary for others to avoid the pitfalls that befell the amendment process in the 8th National Assembly, where Mr. President vetoed the bill on the ground among others, that the amendment came too late in the day.”
In attendance were Governor Tambuwal, Abia state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed, and Senator Duoye Diri of Bayelsa state. Others were Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Seyi Makinde, and Darius Ishaku of Enugu, Oyo, and Taraba states respectively.
