*Disowns publication, demands retraction
By BASHIR ADEFAKA
“His view on this matter has never been in doubt as he has always said that it is the prerogative of Mr. President to appoint an Inspector General of Police with the endorsement of the Police Council which the President Chairs.”
The leadership of Police Service Commission (PSC) in Nigeria has debunked a report by Vanguard Newspaper on opposition to a likely waiver by President of the country to grant tenure extension to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba.
In the said report, Chairman of the PSC, Dr Solomon Arase, was said to have supported the move saying it would utterly undermine the law, the provisions of the Police Act, 2020(amended) which provides in section 18(8) of the Police Act ” that every police officer shall on recruitment or appointment serve the Nigeria Police Force for a period of 35 years or until he attains the age of 60 years whichever comes first”.
But in a statement signed by Head, Press and Public Relations of the Commission, Mr. Ikechukwu Ani, dated Tuesday, June13th 2023 and copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER, Dr. Arase, who himself is a former Inspector General of Police, not only disowned the comment credited to him in the report but also said he was not even contacted by the reporter.
According to the statement, “The attention of the Police Service Commission has been drawn to a fictitious and obviously misleading story in the Vanguard of today, Tuesday, June 13, page 8, captioned “Uneasy calm in Police over Successor to IGP Baba”, where Commission Chairman, Dr. Solomon Arase, CFR, Former Inspector General of Police was quoted to have granted an interview to one Evelyn Usman, a crime correspondent of the Newspaper.
“The Correspondent who supposedly interviewed some Civil Society Chieftains in respect of the story went further to claim that Dr. Arase expressed similar views on the matter even when he was not contacted at all.”
The Chairman, according to the media report, was also said to have given expression that any such action of IGP tenure extension could trigger avoidable tension within the system especially the Command structure of Police hierarchy, lower morale and disrupt the systematic movement of top officers in line with seniority and rank.
To clear the doubt of all, the PSC statement said, “The Commission wishes to state that its Chairman did not grant any interview to the said Evelyn Usman or direct any one to speak on his behalf on the issues raised above.”
Dr. Arase, according the Spokesman, is a former Inspector General of Police and, as current Chairman of the Commission, “is a member of the Police Council and is aware of the channels of Communication as it relates to his advise/contribution in the appointment of an Inspector General of Police.
“His view on this matter has never been in doubt as he has always said that it is the prerogative of Mr. President to appoint an Inspector General of Police with the endorsement of the Police Council which the President Chairs.”
Retraction
Ikechukwu Ani said, “The Commission demands a published retraction of this tendatious publication with apologies.
“The Commission holds the Vanguard Newspaper in high esteem and wishes to express serious concern on this development.
“For avoidance of any doubt, the Commission wishes to restate that its Chairman never spoke to the said Evelyn Usman.
“Dr. Arase is and has always been a media person and had been available at short notices for media interviews. Fabricating an interview and crediting stories to him is obviously in bad taste,” he said.
