TOP STORIES: PSC Approves Policy Guidelines On Deployment of AIGs, CPs, Tactical Commanders, Gender Sensitivity In Such Deployment.
Appointment of at least 3 Female Command CPs and one Zonal AIG.
The Police Service Commission has endorsed new policy guidelines concerning the deployment of management and tactical commanders within the Nigeria Police Force.
One key aspect emphasized in the guidelines is the importance of gender sensitivity when deploying Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and Commissioners of Police to Zonal and State Command Headquarters.
The Commission stressed that the current statistics of such deployments was against the North East and South East geopolitical zones.
The decision was made during the 21st Plenary Meeting of the Commission, held at its Corporate Headquarters in Jabi, Abuja on Thursday, June 15th 2023 and presided over by its Chairman, Dr. Solomon Arase (rtd).
Ikechukwu Ani Head, Press and Public Relations of the Commission, in a statement made available to journalists on Sunday, said the Commission also approved new Policy guidelines for deployment of Management and Tactical Commanders in the Nigeria Police Force and the imperativeness for gender-senstivity in the deployment of Assistant Inspectors- General of Police and Commissioners of Police to Zonal and state Command Headquarters.
It reads, ” The Commission considered and approved the Policy guidelines at its 21st Plenary Meeting which held at its Corporate Headquarters in Jabi, Abuja on Thursday, June 15th 2023 and presided over by its Chairman, Dr. Solomon Arase, CFR, retired Inspector General of Police.
” The Commission said the Nigeria Police Force should be guided by the principle of Federal Character in both recruitment (at all levels) and deployment of its personnel at Management and Tactical levels to ensure balance, equity and fairness in the system.
” It observed that the current deployment of Commissioners of Police to State Commands leaves much to be desired in reflecting the principle of equity and fairness to all geo-political zones of the country, stressing that the current statistics of such deployments was against the North East and South East geopolitical zones.
” The Commission observed the disproportional distribution and lopsided deployment of Command Commissioners and noted that it has become extremely important that a fair representation of all geo-political zones is always reflected in these deployments to eschew and address the feeling and sense of marginalisation and injustice by certain zones of the country in the Nigeria Police Force.
” The Commission at Plenary and relying on Section 6(e) and (7) of the Police Service Commission Act which empowers the Commission to ‘formulate and implement policies aimed at the efficiency and discipline in the Nigeria Police Force; and perform such other functions which in the opinion of the Commission are required to ensure the optimal efficiency of the Nigeria Police Force considered and approved the new Policy guidelines.
” Henceforth request for deployment of Commissioners of Police to State Commands must ensure that the disadvantaged zones are considered first in the proposals to the Commission in order to redress the present imbalance and lopsided deployments skewed against the North-East and South-East regions of the country.
” All geo-political zones of the country must now have at least 15 percent representation in the deployment of Assistant Inspectors-General of Police to Zones, Commissioners of Police to State Commands and posting of Commanding Officers of Police Mobile Force, Counter-Terrorism CTU and Special Protection Unit (SPU).
” That all Police deployments to zones and Commands at both Management (Deputy Commissioners of Police and Assistant Commissioners of Police and Tactical levels (Commanding Officers of PMF/SPU/CTU, must recognise our heterogeneity and reflect fairness and equity in terms of ethnicity and religion.
” The Commission advised the Inspector General to be guided appropriately by this Policy guidelines founded on principles of fairness and justice to all members of the NPF.
” It is also geared towards eliciting trust and confidence of the Nigerian people and taking ownership of their Police in showing greater understanding, cooperation and support to the NPF towards improved community safety and adequate internal security in Nigeria.
” The Commission on its Policy on Imperativeness of Gender-senstivity in the Deployment of AIGs and CPs noted the continued practice of lopsided deployments of only male Police Officers to Zones and Commands with no fair consideration and representation of female Police Officers who are qualified for such positions.
” It observed that this will in no time portray the Police as an organisation that is anti-woman empowerment and averse to women inclusivity in governance.
” The Commission also considered and approved that “at least three state Commands out of the thirty seven Commands must have female Police Officers as their Commissioners of Police and out of the seventeen Zonal Headquarters, at least one Zone must have a female AIG to head the zone”.
” The Commission had also at the Plenary Meeting approved the appointment of two Deputy Inspectors General of Police, approved the promotion of 14 Commissioners of Police to the next rank of Assistant Inspectors General of Police which included CP Adebowale Williams, who was until his promotion, the Commissioner of Police Oyo State Command.
” The Commission also approved the promotion of 22 Deputy Commissioners of Police to substantive Commissioners of Police and which also included DCP Enyinnaya Inonachi Adiogu, who was formally Deputy Commissioner Special Fraud Unit (SFU) IkoyLagosos
Subsidy: Labour threatens strike, resumes talks with FG.
The Federal Government and labour unions met on June 5, 2023, with a resolution to reconvene on June 19 to agree on the implementation framework of the resolutions reached.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who led the government side, had disclosed this at the end of the meeting between labour and government representatives at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, the June 5 meeting agreed on a seven-point resolution to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, on Nigerians.
“The Federal Government, the TUC, and the NLC to establish a joint committee to review the proposal for any wage increase or award and establish a framework and timeline for implementation.
“The Federal Government, the TUC and the NLC to review the World Bank Financed Cash transfer scheme and propose the inclusion of low-income earners in the programme.
“The Federal Government, the TUC and the NLC to revive the CNG conversion programme earlier agreed with Labour centres in 2021 and work out detailed implementation and timing,” Gbajabiamila had stated.
Labour warns
But when contacted on Sunday to speak on the expectations of labour from the meeting scheduled to hold today (Monday), the Vice President, NLC, Adewale Adeyanju, said a lot of things had been presented by labour unions, stressing that the government should not act funny.
“There are a lot of things that labour has been putting before the government. The refineries need to be revamped. We cannot continue to import refined petroleum products and be spending on subsidies all the time.
“Labour has its set of demands and by the time we meet with the government tomorrow we will list them out again,” he stated.
Asked to state what action the NLC would take should the government fail to give in to the demands of labour, considering the plight currently faced by Nigerians with respect to the removal of subsidy, Adeyanju replied, “You know we only suspended our strike as a result of the need to meet on this.
“So the government should know that things are becoming difficult and they (the government) should not decide to do anything funny. The strike was only suspended. It was an ultimatum that was given out and it (strike) was suspended.
“So let’s hear what the government has for us and then we will know what to tell our members. It is about the lives of the people. Let’s meet them tomorrow and then labour will come out with its position.”Adeyanju, however, expressed optimism that the meeting would be fruitful and insisted that the NLC would not want the government to behave funny.
“We hope that the meeting is going to be fruitful. The expectations are very high. The nation is watching and people are looking at how the Nigeria Labour Congress is going to handle the situation.“And the government too will not like to behave funny because they know the country is battling with the increase in fuel pump price and so many things,” he stated.
On the proposal by oil marketers for the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas at filling stations, the NLC official stated that a technical committee had been set up by the Federal Government to look into the matter.“The government has set up a technical committee on some of these issues. So I don’t want us to preempt the outcomes that will come out from that meeting tomorrow between labour and the government,” he stated.
Commenting on the need to deploy CNG, the National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Okonkwo, stated that oil marketers were looking forward to the outcomes of the meeting between the Federal Government and labour before making their moves.
“That meeting tomorrow (Monday) is ve crucial, because marketers are ready to deploy CNG, but the outcome of that meeting will tell us whether the government is ready to give the support needed to make this initiative fruitful.
“We are very confident that with the deployment of CNG as a substitute to PMS, the harsh effect caused by petrol price hike would be addressed significantly,” Okonkwo stated.
CBN lifts restriction on $10k deposit for domiciliary account holders.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says cash deposits into domiciliary accounts will not be restricted, and customers “shall have unfettered and unrestricted access to funds in their accounts”.
The bank spoke in a statement issued after a meeting with the bankers’ committee on Sunday.
The meeting was meant to provide further guidance to deposit money banks (DMBs) on the recent operational changes to the foreign exchange market and to discuss the implementation and implications of the policy changes for the banking public.
The new directive nullifies the transaction limit that banks placed on domiciliary account in 2021 in compliance with regulatory instructions from the CBN.
In the past few days, Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) market has witnessed significant events following the implementation of reforms aimed at repositioning the country’s economy.
On June 14, the regulator announced the unification of all segments of Nigeria’s FX market, and the floating of the local currency.
The policy effectively collapsed all FX windows into the investors and exporters (I&E) window, the CBN said. In its latest statement, the CBN said it aims to promote transparency, liquidity, and price discovery in the FX market in order to improve FX supply with the changes in its policy.
This, the apex bank said, would discourage speculation, enhance customer confidence and ensure overall stability in the FX market; adding that more guidance would be conveyed to authorised dealers and the general public in due course.
“All visible and invisible transactions (medicals, school fees, BTA/PTA, airline, and other remittances) are eligible for the investors’ and exporters’ (I&E) window, ” the statement reads. “DMBs shall ensure expeditious processing of all eligible invisible transactions on behalf of their customers using the applicable rate at the I&E window.
“Ordinary domiciliary account holders shall have unfettered and unrestricted access to funds in their accounts. Domiciliary account holders are permitted to utilise cash deposits not exceeding $10,000 per day or its equivalent via telegraphic transfer.
“DMBs shall provide returns to the CBN including the purpose for such transactions. Cash deposits into domiciliary accounts will not be restricted, subject to DMBs conducting proper KYC (know your customer), due diligence, and adhering to the spirit and letter of extant anti-money laundering/ combating the financing of terrorism laws and other relevant rules and regulations.
“The CBN will prioritise orderly settlement of any committed FX forward transactions as they fall due in order to further boost market confidence.”
The bank added that the cash reserve ratio (CRR) will maintain its processes while ensuring equity in its implementation across the banking industry. The CBN also assured the banking public that it remains committed to “ensuring a stable and efficient FX market that meets the needs of all legitimate users”.
Wike Narrates How He Escaped Death After Being Poisoned at PDP Secretariat.
Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers State, has opened up about the life-threatening challenges he faced during his tenure as the chief executive of the oil-rich state.
Wike, who spoke at a special thanksgiving service organised by his family at the St. Peters Deanery, Rumuepirikom, Obio-Akpor on Sunday, June 18, 2023, said he was poisoned at the secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2018 and almost lost his liver and kidney.
He said he was flown to Beirut at midnight, where doctors informed him that his organs were damaged and that he had little chance of survival.
However, by a divine intervention, he said his condition improved and he was discharged after a week. He said he did not know who poisoned him and that he became suspicious of everyone around him.
“But God saw us through. When you are in office, many people think things are going well with you. Nobody wants to find out the problems you are facing as a human.
“In December 2018, it was the day my former Chief of Staff was going to have thanksgiving. I was to attend that thanksgiving. From that Sunday on, I never came down from my room. It was bad.
“But those who attended the January 1 state banquet of 2019 will know that I never spoke that day. I just sat down there and told the deputy governor to speak on my behalf. I thought it was over.
“I didn’t know I had been poisoned at our party’s secretariat, the doctors, after some treatments, returned and told me my organs had started working again.”
Wike also revealed that his wife, Justice Eberechi Wike, was diagnosed with cancer while he was campaigning for the presidential primaries of the PDP in 2019.
He said he wanted to withdraw from the race but his wife encouraged him to continue. He said he was grateful to God for healing his wife and sparing his life.
Wike thanked God for seeing him through his turbulent journey to power in 2015 and for protecting him from various dangers during his administration.
He said he also survived a plane crash in 2018 when one of the engines of the aircraft he was travelling in exploded shortly after take-off from Port Harcourt. He said he did not tell anyone about the incident.
Wike said he owed everything to God and that he would continue to serve Him and humanity. He also appreciated his family, friends and associates for their support and prayers.
Sultan Declares June 19 Dhul-Hijjah 1st, June 28, Eidul Adha.
The Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, has declared June 19, 2023 as the first day of Dhul-Hijjah 1444 AH.
This is contained in a statement Sunday night from the council.
“The Sultanate Council Sokoto has declared Monday 19 June, 2023 as the first day of Zul-Hijjah 1444 AH.”
“Accordingly Wednesday 28 June, 2023 will be the day of Eidul Adha 1444 AH. His Eminence The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, wishes the entire Muslim Ummah happy Eidul Adha Mubarak in advance,” the statement said.
The Sultan had on Saturday directed Muslims to look out for the new moon of Dhul-Hijjah 1444 AH from Sunday.
Daily Trust reports that the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia had on Sunday announced that Monday, June 19, as the first day of Dhul-Hijjah, after sighting the new crescent in the Kingdom on Sunday night.
”Arafat Day falls on Tuesday, June 27, while Wednesday, June 28, will be the first day of Eid Al Adha,” the Saudi Arabia apex court said in the statement.
Adeleke Completes 31km of Roads in 7 Months, 47km Ongoing.
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has completed 31 kilometers of roads from November 2022 to date.
Governor Ademola Adeleke made the disclosure on arrival at Osogbo after attending the National Economic Council meeting in Abuja.
According to him, 17 kilometers of roads are currently ongoing at various stages of completion across the state while additionally 30 kilometers of roads have been listed for construction and reconstruction.
His words: “Our administration is paying close attention to the upgrade of Osun roads as a way of jumpstart the state economy. Osun suffers badly due to bad roads, failing bridges and culverts.
” Our township roads are in bad state across the thread senatorial districts. Business cannot boom if road network are in such terrible state.
” So from day one, my focus among others has been on infrastructure upgrade. I am happy to report that 31 kilometers are done already. But the target is about 100 kilometers before the end of the year.”
Also corraborating the Governor, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works and Transport, Engr Bashir Bello said massive work is ongoing on bridge reconstruction, culvert upgrades and channelisation work across the state.
“Beside the road construction, the government is given quick intervention to some bad section of roads that require urgent attention. Construction of large drainage that can contain flooding of Ogo Oluwa main road are under construction”, the Permanent Secretary stated.
“We Are Seeing Signs” – Gov. Fubara Hints at Wike’s Defection to APC
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has implored on his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, not to distance himself if he decides to cross over to the opposing political camp.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the appeal was made during a thanksgiving reception held in honour of Wike at the governor’s private residence on Ada-George Road.
Acknowledging the speculation surrounding Wike’s potential departure from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Fubara expressed his desire for Wike to remain nearby.
He emphasised the need for Wike’s guidance and counsel, especially in the face of political adversaries who seek to harm their shared interests.
“While we are witnessing indications that you may consider joining the other side, a prospect that many anticipate, I implore you not to distance yourself from me. I am aware that there are sharks and tigers lurking, eagerly seeking an opportunity to inflict harm,” stated Fubara. “Your presence and guidance would continue to steer me in the right direction for the betterment of our state.”
Governor Fubara’s appeal comes amidst ongoing rumours surrounding Wike’s potential departure from the PDP.
Speculation intensified after Wike publicly supported the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, who ultimately emerged as the winner of the 2023 presidential election, instead of his own party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Am not an outcast, I love my Party and I wont leave PDP- Wike Tells Damagum.
The Immediate former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has implored the PDP Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum to carry him and the G5 governors along in the party affairs. He alleged that he has no plan to leave the Peoples Democratic Party despite all the ranging rumors of him leaving the party. He stated firmly that his actions in the last Presidential election is all about the unity of Nigeria, which he claimed to be more superior to the party.
He pointed out that he loves the party so much and that he has no reason why he should leave at the moment. He however advised the PDP acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum to keep to his promise of putting the house in order. According to him, the Acting Chairman should let the principle of equity works for the party.
He said, ”Let me speak about it party, the acting National Chairman is a man in whom I’m well pleased in. I’m a member of the National Working Committee and let me advise the National Chairman. Please, you have promised to do well, let things work well. I didn’t do anything wrong, what I did is to let Nigeria to be One and United. Don’t treat me like an outcast, I still love my party so much and I will not leave the party to any other party in Nigeria. What I fought for is equity, fairness, and justice.”
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