The Police Service Commission (PSC) has refuted reports that it endorsed the elongation of the tenure of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba. The Commission made the rebuttal in a statement on Monday.
Confusion has recently trailed the tenure of the IGP following an online publication in which a commissioner in the PSC was quoted to have stated that the commission was considering a tenure elongation for the police boss.
Reacting to an online publication, the PSC said a commissioner in the commission was misquoted. The IGP Usman Baba has been under pressure over his retirement saga.
A statement by the Head, Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani said: “The attention of the Police Service Commission has been drawn to an online publication where the Commission was said to have endorsed the tenure elongation of the current Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba.
“The online publication in a supposed interview with AIG Lawal Bawa retired, Honourable Commissioner in the Commission representing the Police, stated that the PSC Commissioner confirmed that the Commission” is not against the extension of the tenure of the Inspector General of Police”. It went further to quote the Honourable Commissioner. “If the IGP feels that it will affect effective monitoring of the elections, let him write to the President for their extension. We (PSC) have no objection”
The PSC statement however claimed that the said Commissioner has since denied making such statement, stressing that he was obviously misquoted.
It alleged that the commissioner told the online publication that extending the tenure of the IGP was the prerogative of Mr. President to decide.
“The Commission, therefore, wishes to state that it has not endorsed any tenure elongation for the current Inspector General of Police. As a matter of fact, the Commission was never contacted on this subject at any time.
“It notes that it will always commit itself to the letters and spirit of the laws of the land and will not at any time support or encourage any attempt to subvert these laws.
“The Commission wishes to appeal to the media to avoid unnecessary sensationalism in an attempt to attract huge readership.
“The Commission will also continue to work to ensure an effective and efficient Nigeria Police rooted in the rules and regulations governing its operations”, the statement stressed.
