The tenures of Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero and Mike Okiro were extended by the administrations of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Yar Adua respectively. Former President Obasanjo extended the tenure of IGP Sunday Ehindero by one year while former President Yar’Adua extended the tenure of Mike Okiro till 2010.
But President Buhari cannot extend the tenure of IGP Ibrahim Idris because the opposition called it attack on democracy. History will judge us. Section 215, sub 1, paragraph (a) of the 1999 Constitution, states: “An Inspector-General of Police…subject to Section 216 (2) of this Constitution, shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Nigeria Police Council from among serving members of the Nigeria Police Force.”
In January 2005, Inspector General Tafa Balogun was forced to resign after it was revealed that he was under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was replaced by Sunday Ehindero. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has further extended the tenure of Ehindero till May 29, 2007. Ehindero’s tenure had earlier been extended by one year on March 20, 2006 when he personally reminded the president officially that his tenure had come to an end. The president was said to have told the Inspector General that the time was too short for him to start looking for another Inspector General at this crucial moment in the nation’s history.
He was said to have impressed it on Ehindero the need for him to stay on till the said date so as to organise the security for the forthcoming general election which he was said to have described as a landmark as it would be the first transition from one civilian administration to another.
All through the eight-year tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007, officers from not just the South but his Southwest held the post, from Musiliu Smith, through Tafa Balogun to Sunday Ehindero. But in most cases, the issues of being appointed above other senior serving officers hardly arose as it did in 2007 when Okiro got the job.
The extension of tenure of the Inspector General of Police, Sir Mike Mbama Okiro, till 2010 by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was described as a clear manifestation of the President’s foresight and willingness to reward hard work; it equally portrays him as a man who is not easily swayed by sentiment and emotions.
The truth as far as the matter is concerned is that President Buhari as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is vested with power to extend or not to on the matter. Instead of making a needless fuss about the tenure of IGP Idris, Nigerians should be calling for an extension of the tenure of the IGP because he has brought sound, workable and credible reforms to the police.
But the issue of succession in the police has become a big, thorny, political issue that seems now to pose a serious threat to the hierarchical nature of police organization and, therefore, the integrity of the force. Appointment of the IGP is the prerogative of the President on the advice of the Police Service Commission, which advice the president may just ignore.
Inwalomhe Donald,
Benin
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