No police officer will stagnate in rank under my watch – Arase

The Chairman, Police Service Commission, PSC, Solomon Arase, has vowed that under his watch, no Police personnel will remain stagnated on a rank.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the Commission’s Spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani.

Mr Arase gave the assurance while reacting to the recent promotion of some rank and files in the force by the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba.

The Police High Command on Thursday, announced the promotion of 31,465 policemen with 24,991 sergeants promoted to inspectors, 194 promoted from corporal to sergeant, and 6,280 from constable to corporal respectively.

The Police High Command said that the I-G effected the promotion as part of his manpower development policy targeted at promoting deserving police officers on the basis of competence, qualification, and length of service.

“I commend the I-G for the promotions, and want to assure you that under my watch, both junior and senior officers will not be allowed to be stagnated on a rank, especially when there are no disciplinary issues around the officer.

“To this effect, since I assumed office, the commission has deliberately moved to clear all pending disciplinary matters, so that officers can have unhindered career progression,” Mr Arase said.

The PSC chairman said he was sending officers of the commission to various Police zonal command headquarters to observe inspectors’ promotional interviews by the Departmental Selection Board, starting across the federation on Monday.

According to him, the commission is building a new Police force that will once again be attractive to Nigerian youths.

Arase noted that in less than two months, he had succeeded in creating a cordial working relationship between the commission and the Police, saying that both parties now work not to compete, but to complement each other.

He pointed out that there was now respect for the clearly defined responsibilities of the two institutions, stressing that they now operate with mutual respect and shared vision.

“I am happy that I succeeded in uniting the Civil Society Organisations in support of the commission and the Nigeria Police Force.

“I will continue to engage international donor agencies and other stakeholders in the Police sector to assist in building the capacity of the commission as an oversight body and that of the Police as the lead agency in internal security.

“I can report that I am getting listening ears and making a lot of progress; the Police force we are building will surely be a pride of the nation,” he said.

Arase warned the commission’s officials against any form of corruption and unprofessional conduct on official assignment.

He promised to continue to work for the unity and progress of both the commission and the Police.

NAN