PDP Governors Reject Adamu’s Tenure Extension, Calls On President Buhari To Convene Council Of State Meeting To Appoint A New Inspector General Of Police
- Ask President Buhari To Decentralize the Police
- Advocates State Police
- Urges NASS To Quicken Passage Of Electoral Act Amendment Bill
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors Wednesday showed their rejection of the tenure extension of Mohammed Adamu as the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
The Governors under the aegis of PDP Governors’ Forum asked Mr. President to convene a consultative meeting of the Nigeria Police Council to appoint an Inspector of Police whether in acting or permanent capacity as envisaged under the 1999 Constitution.
The Governors x-rayed the state of the nation, in particular, the various challenges facing the country in respect of security, economy, and other matters of national importance.
The following decisions were reached:
On the issue of national security, the PDP Governors’ Forum congratulated the newly appointed Service Chiefs and recommended the complete overhauling of the national security architecture.
The Forum strongly recommended the decentralization of the Nigeria Police Force and imperative introduction of the state police in Nigeria, as one of the solutions to stem the tide of insecurity ravaging the country.
In addition, the Forum requests Mr. President to convene a consultative meeting of Nigeria Police Council to appoint an Inspector of Police whether in acting or permanent capacity as envisaged under the 1999 Constitution.
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 the breach. The current Nigeria Police Act envisaged that community policing should serve as a decentralized 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 the 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 the National Assembly to expedite action in the passage of the Bill. This is necessary for others to avoid the pitfalls that befell the amendment process in the 8th National Assembly, where Mr. The president vetoed the Bill on the ground among others, that the amendment came too late in the day.
The Forum congratulated Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her appointment as Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and wishes her well in her new assignment. The Forum further requested her to use her new office to facilitate trade and investment between Nigeria and other countries.
The Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, (PDP-GF) meeting was held via virtual and the Governors in attendance are Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal – Sokoto State – Governor/Chairman, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu – Abia State – Governor/Vice Chairman, Sen. Bala Mohammed – Bauchi State – Member, Sen. Duoye Diri -Bayelsa State- Member, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi – Enugu State – Member, Gov. Seyi Makinde – Oyo State – Member, and Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku -Taraba State – Member.
