Senior officers of the Nigerian Police Force have rejected the bill extending the tenure of Inspector General Of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun
On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu forwarded an Executive Bill to the House of Representatives seeking to amend the Nigeria Police Act in accordance with Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The amendment, DAILY GIST gathered, seeks to alter the Police Act in relation to the appointment and tenure of the Inspector General of Police, IGP.
The bill seeks to amend the Nigeria Police Act, 2020 (“Principal Act”) to enable the person appointed as IGP to remain in office until the end of term stipulated in the letter of appointment.
However, the decision to amend the bill is tearing the force apart as senior officers have moved against it.
Already, there are grumbles and expressions of dissent with some going as far as warning that loyalty and hard work in the face of public hostility cannot be guaranteed.
Egbetokun, who was the principal officer of President Bola Tinubu when he was governor of Lagos State, was appointed as IGP in June 2023, two years before he clocks 60 on September 4, 2024.
Having established a firm working relationship with the president, and would be the direct beneficiary of the law, senior officers who feel they have been denied a possible IG position are crying wolf warning loyalty and hard work would be tested.
The officers who are next in line to take over as IG if Egbetokun retires in September disapprove of the development.
“Even though not everyone can be an IG, it’s wrong. It will crash the morale,” a senior officer also qualified for the position told THE WHISTLER on condition of anonymity.
He said it’s alarming that “nepotism is creeping into a once admired force. It’s getting worse. How would the rank and file think when at the top nepotism and favouritism is being given utmost consideration?
“I think the only fair thing is if the occupant of that office is not the first beneficiary otherwise it will spell doom for the future of the force,” he warned.
Another senior officer said, “What can we say but to watch and see. It’s a terrible day because the manner and speed the whole thing was done leaves much to be desired.”
Also, a retired senior police officer who said he doesn’t want to invite the wrath of the powers that be opined that “in our days, even though we were underfunded, we tried not to give prominence to favouritism and nepotism. What everyone would be looking at is who is the president and who’s the IG and who is the first beneficiary of this law.
“I don’t think it’s a good thing, it doesn’t look well. Tongues would wag, people would be demoralised and that’s the last thing you need in the already troubled force,” he said.
