Determined to change the narrative of poor welfare in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, on Wednesday hinted that a welfare promotion package for personnel of the Force was on the way.
Speaking at the Zone 7 Headquarters of the Nigeria Police in Abuja during the commissioning of the renovated building being one of the 192 capital projects he embarked upon since he assumed office, the IGP stated that all the rank and file personnel that had stayed on one rank from 2017 till date would be moved to the next rank within the next 24 hours.
According to him, “the Nigeria Police Force was already working on the promotion of officers and men before the issue of strike action came up. All those who were last promoted in 2017 would get their promotion while the commissioned offices from the ranks of the Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP and above, who been stagnated for years would be immediately forwarded to the Police Service Commission (PSC), being commissioned officers for immediate action.”
The IGP who assured that the present administration was committed to improved welfare for the personnel of the Force urged them to be more dedicated to their duties and be cautious of their environments now that personnel of the nation’s security forces were the target of attacks by criminal elements.
On the need creasing cases of internal insecurity in the country, the Inspector General of Police said that the police had tried its best in securing the country, but that their best was not good enough.
He lamented the ongoing killings of police personnel and other security forces in the North-central and South-East, saying that security personnel were now the target of attacks.
According to him, “We are doing our best. Our best is not enough. Everyone is synergizing. The military is in; other security agencies are in. We are even more endangered; there is no day our men are not killed. We have been trying and we shall continue to try.”
He said that the Police High Command was planning a series of training and retraining for personnel of the Police Force ahead of the general elections aimed at ensuring crisis-free elections.
He announced the donation of operational vehicles, computer sets for the Zone 7 Headquarters as requested by the command.
The IGP later inaugurated the newly created Police Area Command of the Nigeria Police Force at Life Camp, Gwarinpa, Abuja which was created to further strengthen security in the nation’s capital city and its environs.
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