No Igbo among 24 AIGs

·     Region has only 6 out of 90 CPs

·     Blame Federal Character, says Okiro

The marginalization of the Igbos has become a recurrent decimal over the years
– especially in the na­tion’s uniformed forces, like the military, the Customs Service, the Immigrations and the Po­lice Force.

Contrary to the provisions of the Federal Character Prin­ciple, it is evident that equity and fairness are far from being at play with respect to the pro­motion of senior Igbo officers in the Nigeria Police Force.

Stakeholders have com­plained that out of 24 Assis­tant Inspectors-General of Po­lice (AIGs), none is from the South East. Similarly, out of about 90 Commissioners of Po­lice believed to be the nucleus of the force, only about six are from the South East geopoliti­cal zone.

Surprisingly, the Chairman  of the Police Service Commis­sion (PSC), Mike Okiro, has fingered the Principle of Fed­eral Character as shortchang­ing the South East Police offic­ers in their advancement to the top hierarchy of the Force.

Reacting to complaints by stakeholders in the South East that the zone has been grossly marginalised in the promotion of its top officers within the Po­lice Force, Okiro, who spoke to newsmen in Onitsha, Anam­bra, defended the Police Ser­vice Commission of any com­plicity in the marginalization of any zone in the country.

Okiro insisted that the PSC complied strictly with the pro­visions of the Federal Charac­ter Principle in the promotion of officers.

He explained that the strict application of the principle has reduced the chances of the of­ficers from the zone from being promoted to the echelon of the Police Force.

South East stakeholders had, in their constant com­plaint of marginalisation in the promotion of its top officers within the Police Force, noted that when the police hierarchy reluctantly promoted a few of them, they were not given the opportunity to man strategic command positions.

Speaking to The AUTHOR­ITY on phone on the issue, the Head, Press and Public Re­lations of the Police Service Commission, Ikechukwu Ani, said that he was not aware that his boss made such a statement, adding that he did not travel with him to the occasion. “I’m not aware and I was not there”, he said.

However, he explained that the Federal Character Principle comes in at the point of entry in the Force.

He listed merit, senior­ity and availability of estab­lishment vacancies as factors responsible for career progres­sion.

Ani further explained that promotion from the rank of Constable to AIG is strictly guided by merit, seniority and available vacancies.

However, The AUTHORI­TY gathered from a source in the Police, who preferred an­onymity, that Okiro was be­ing economical with the truth on the marginalisation of the Ndigbo.

The source argued that if the Federal Character Principle was adhered to strictly, the South East would get at least four AIGs and about 15 Commissioners of Police.

But Okiro, who is also a for­mer Inspector-General of Po­lice and whose PSC was charged with the responsibility of recruit­ing, promoting and disciplining of officers from the ranks of As­sistant Superintendent of Po­lice (ASP) to Deputy Inspec­tors-General (DIG), denied that some ethnic nationalities were systematically marginalised in such promotion exercises.

The AUTHORITY fur­ther gathered that the South East zone is marginalised be­cause the North has more states and local governments than the South East. The source argued that promotions are shared in likewise manner.

Okiro, who spoke at a social event, stressed the need for the governments at all levels in the country to collaborate to create a conducive environment for se­curity of life and property of cit­izens.

“Security is so critical to all of us that we must seek it first like the Kingdom of God, so that every other thing would be add­ed unto us.

As the yuletide fast approaches, everybody must be very careful and should be secu­rity conscious about his or her own environment”, Okiro added.

Subscribe to Our Posts via Email