[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Egbetokun Olukayode Adeolu, on Wednesday, said that corruption and misconducts that tarnishes the image of the Nigerian Police will not be tolerated under his watch, as there will be proactive steps to instill discipline across the ranks.

This is even as he said, he will review aspects of community policing, to emplace intelligence led policing, so as to improve policing in the country.

“I acknowledge our citizens’ deep-rooted concerns and grievances against the police. It is no secret that the Nigerian Police Force has faced its fair share of criticism in the past. Instances of misconduct, corruption, and abuse of power have eroded public trust. I am before you today to declare that such behaviour will not be tolerated under my watch and there will be proactive steps to instill discipline across the ranks,” he said.

integrity, and respect within the Police Force.

According to him, “We will prioritize new ways of recruiting, training, and equipping our officers to ensure they possess the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out their duties efficiently, and with excellence and this we will do to the admiration of the people that we serve”.

Speaking on the reforms he intend to introduce to improve policing in Nigeria, the new IGP said: “As the Inspector General of Police, I firmly believe that our path to a brighter future lies in collaboration, transparency, and the reformation of our law enforcement delivery system”.

He noted that to regain the trust of the Nigerian people, his administration will establish a robust internal system to investigate allegations of misconduct within the Police Force.

He said: “We will hold accountable those who betray the public’s trust amongst us, ensuring that they face the full force of the law. Additionally, we will actively promote a working culture that will encourage officers and citizens alike to report instances of corruption or abuse they may witness. Our Police Force will be a beacon of integrity. We will hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism and ethics. Henceforth, every police officer will be selected not only for their skills but also for their compassion, empathy, and commitment to public service”.

While, handing over the mantle of leadership on the new IGP, the out gone IGP, Usman Alkali Baba, said that part of his vision for the NPF on assumption of office, was to evolve a police force in which, abuses associated with the promotion regime, will be addressed and the process made credible enough to truly motivate personnel, while the age-long challenge of rank stagnation will be tackled.

establishment of the Nigeria Police National Cybercrime Centre with the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He noted that the pathways for the policing of our dreams have been clearly defined, firm foundation built, and giant strides taken for the new Force

leadership to leverage on in his quest for a better Police Force.

According to him, “As I exit the leadership of the Force today, I believe that I am leaving it better than I met it. I believe that I have added value to policing in Nigeria. I hold the firm conviction that steady progress has been made in all the components of my promise to change policing narratives and in our journey to restore the dwindling police primacy within the internal security architecture of the country. We might not be there yet, but certainly the pathways have been clearly defined, firm foundation built, and giant strides taken for the new Force

leadership to leverage on in his quest for a better Police Force. For coming this far with me in my leadership journey, I wish to put on record my sincere appreciation to the entire Nigeria Police Family for demonstrating a sense of loyalty, sacrifice, and duty orientation which have combined to aid me in attaining most of the set leadership visions and targets”.

Earlier, the Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement, said, Ag. IGP Egbetokun Olukayode Adeolu, hails from Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State.

He holds a Doctorate degree in Peace and Security Studies, a Post Graduate Diploma in Petroleum Economics, a Masters in Business Administration, a Certification in Electronic Data Processing/Computer Programming, a Masters in Engineering Analysis, and a Bachelors in Mathematics.

The new IGP he added has held several strategic positions in the past cutting across all the departments of the Force. These include: Commander Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Lagos State Command, Area Commander Osogbo, Osun State, and Gusuau, Zamfara State, Commandant Police Training School Ikeja, Commissioner of Police Explosive Ordnance Department, Commissioner of Police Kwara State Command, Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone Abuja amongst others.

Until his appointment as the Ag. IGP, he was the Deputy Inspector General of Police in-charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department.

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]mmediate past Inspector-General of Police (IGP), retired Mr Usman Baba said in Abuja on Wednesday that he left the Nigeria Police Force better than he met it on his appointment in 2021.

“As I exit the leadership of the Force today, I believe that I am leaving it better than I met it.

“I believe that I have added value to policing in Nigeria,’’ he said while handing over the rein of authority to the newly-appointed Acting I-G, Mr Kayode Egbetokun.

The former I-G said he had pledged to address the welfare concerns of serving and retired officers and enhance the operational capacity of the Force through the procurement of critical operational assets.

He said he also set out to reposition special detachments of the Force, particularly the Marine and Air wings, the Special Forces, Police Mobile Force, Counterterrorism Unit and the Special Protection Unit.

He added that he also strove to enhance the intelligence capacity of the Force through the push for the Cam Scanner upgrade of the Technical Intelligence assets.

“I am convinced that steady progress has been made in all components of my promise to change policing narratives and restore the dwindling police primacy within the internal security architecture of the country.

“These are for the new leadership to leverage on in the quest for a better Police Force,’’ he stressed.

Baba commended the Nigeria Police family for loyalty, sacrifice, and duty orientation, which, he said aided his administration to attain most of its set leadership visions and targets.

“I specially thank members of the Force Management Team for being strategic partners all through my leadership journey,’’ he said.

Responding, Acting I-G Egbetokun commended President Bola Tinubu for the confidence reposed in him.

He said his appointment was a call to commitment and a platform to make a difference in the shared mission of the president to safeguard the lives and well-being of Nigerians.

He said his administration would also strive to restore public confidence in law enforcement institutions and create a Nigeria where every citizen would feel safe, protected and respected.

Egbetokun pledged to unveil new tactics to release the great potential of the Nigeria Police to secure the country, build lasting peace and deliver on the vision of the president. (NAN)

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ome documents requested by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) at the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi to be presented as exhibits at the Presidential Election Tribunal are non-existent.

INEC made the declaration before the court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday.

Obi and the Labour Party (LP) are challenging the Feb. 25 election of President Bola Tinubu before the court in a petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023.

Respondents in the petition are INEC, President Tinubu, Vice-President Kashim Shettima and their All Progressives Congress (APC).

Giving evidence before the court, Mr Lawrence Bayode, Deputy Director, ICT at INEC told the court that out of the five documents Obi asked for; two were non-existent, while one was work in progress.

One of Obi’s witnesses, Ms Loretta Ogah, an ICT cloud engineer, said she contested election into the House of Representatives on the platform of Labour Party in Cross River, but lost the election.

Ogah was cross-examined by Mr Wole Olanipakun (SAN), counsel for Tinubu and Shettima.

She told the court that she sued INEC after her loss because the electoral umpire did not list her name on its portal as a result of network failure.

Also cross-examined by Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), counsel for APC, Ogah told the court that glitches did not occur on INEC portal on Feb. 25.

She said she did not know INEC’s password protocol as she was not INEC’s employee.

The court, presided over by Justice Haruna Tsammani, adjourned further hearing to Wednesday. (NAN)

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he meeting between the Federal Government and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on subsidy removal was adjourned to Tuesday (tomorrow) for the two parties to consider different demands made.

This came as the Federal Government said that a lot of demands made by Organised Labour in respect of the subsidy removal were practicable.

The TUC, at the meeting, demanded a review of the minimum wage to reflect the economic realities of the time and the government promised to set up a tripartite committee to that effect.

Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting that was held at the Conference Hall of the Chief of Staff to the President at the presidential villa, Abuja, the leader of the government delegation, Dele Alake, said that the meeting went smoothly with some demands made from both parties.

Though he said that some of the demands of the TUC, were not impracticable, the demands would be presented to President Bola Tinubu.

He said the two parties agreed to reconvene on Tuesday to consider the demands

According to him, “Well, as you all know, we had this reconvened meeting today as we promised you a few days ago when we had the initial meeting with the Labour movement.

“We said we were going to reconvene today to keep the engagement on to diffuse the tension in the land as a result of the withdrawal of subsidy, which is a reality.

“Now, we are very happy to announce to Nigerians that this engagement has been very productive. The TUC that attended today’s meeting presented a list of demands and those demands we have studied and we are going to present them to Mr President, for his consideration.

“But those demands we can announce to Nigerians that a lot of the items on the list are not impracticable. What we need to do is to study the numbers very well. Then, we asked the TUC to also give us a leeway to consult very exhaustively and reconvene on Tuesday to look at the numbers, viability, and practicability of all the items that have been presented to us.

“Now, the most important and top priority on the list which the government is also looking at very seriously and the president has announced before, is the issue of the minimum wage which the Labour movement has demanded is the consequential impact of this removal of subsidy.

“So, the government is to look at that and Mr President is most likely going to constitute a tripartite committee that is a committee of the Federal Government, including the states and then the Organised Labour and the private sector.

“Now, this is a tripartite arrangement, it will be a committee that will study all the dynamics of a wage increase in percentages, the numbers, and the categories that will be affected.

“So, by Tuesday when we come back to reconvene, to meet with the TUC again, we should have very concrete items to present to the world.  But the most important thing for today is that we are making appreciable progress with the Labour.”

On the other demands beyond the minimum wage, he said, “It is a list but we are not going to be listing all of them now. The most important is the minimum wage which is an increase in the minimum wage. Because, when this thing is removed, Labour argues that there is an immediate impact on the workers, and on the purchasing power because the price of fuel has gone up.

“So, that will necessarily reduce the purchasing power of the average worker. So, the next thing of immediate consequence is to increase the purchasing power of the worker. So that to me and all of us on this side is the top priority on the list.

“There are other things like the tax holidays in which some categories of workers will be beneficiaries. But the most important is the minimum wage.”

Asked if the government team is negotiating separately with the NLC, he said, “No we are not but we are making efforts to reach NLC. We all agreed that we are going to meet here but again, in this game there are dynamics, sometime they could be meeting with their executive and not able to meet with us, or they could want to postpone or they have not articulated their list of demands as the TUC.

“But we cannot second guess why they are not here. But efforts are being made to reach them, we are not isolating them at all.”

Further asked how soon the committee will be set up, he said, “Very soon. We are going to meet Mr President now and we are going to give him feedback on this and he is going to take an immediate decision.

“And as I said, Mr President himself, you all reported him, he has said that there will be a review of the minimum wage, and you are reported it. So, we are not in disagreement with labour at all on that on that particular issue.”

On whether the allegation made by one of the President’s spokesmen, Bayo Onanuga, accusing the NLC of pandering to the wishes of Peter Obi, was discussed at the meeting, Alake said, “No not at all. It has no relevance to the discussion on the concrete terms of the welfare of the workers. Our discussion was majorly on the welfare of workers, and how to cushion the impact of this subsidy removal on workers that’s all. Not on any political partisanship.”

Further asked who is leading the government team in this negotiation, he simply said, “Of course, you can see all of us here, you can see the GCEO of NNPC, you can see some of us who have been mandated by the president. And don’t forget that a presidential system of government is executive in capacity.

“The President can appoint anybody, he can even appoint consultants to act on his behalf, so there is no issue about that. It is not germane.”

While fielding questions on whether the government team was able to convince labour to shelve the proposed strike, he said, “Of course, we discussed that, and that is why we are still going to reconvene on Tuesday and that is appreciable progress.”

Also on whether the labour’s demand that the government should revert to the old pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), he said, “Of course we did. We touched on that, everybody looked at the practicability of that, the viability and otherwise. Now, the issue is that we will close all of those on Tuesday when we reconvene. Concrete decisions will be taken about that and then we will reach logical conclusions.”

Also speaking, the President of TUC, Festus Osifo said that among the demands presented to the government was the issue of review of the minimum wage.

He said, “Government told us the reason why they did what they did but we did not agree with them, they presented some of the things they considered as palliatives, those are the things they presented to us that we should consider them in the meeting, but we told them no, that we cannot consider them in that meeting, we are going back to call our respective organs.

“So we went back, we called the NEC of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria on Friday, and during the meeting, the NEC of TUC decided that because we have already told the government as of Wednesday that we are taking their demands back, we want to go and look at them because they asked us what was our demand, we said we didn’t have the mandate as at then.

“We went back, we called our meeting on Friday, we had extensive deliberations and our NEC now mandated us with some lists of demands to come and meet with the government today.

“The meeting we have just concluded, we have detailed and marshalled out the list of our demands to them. They also in turn told us that when they presented the items to us on.”

“They also in turn told us that when they presented the items to us on Wednesday we told them that we were going back to our principals, so they also need to touch base with Mr President so that we’ll reconvene this meeting again on Tuesday.

“Topmost in our demands was clearly stated, that for utmost good faith and in the interest of social dialogue, that they should revert to back the pump price while discussions continue”

On why NLC was not at the meeting, Osifo said, “Because when you call an organ meeting and the organ takes a life of its own, the decision of your organ is what you are expected to implement. All of us here today are agents of the NEC of TUC, the NEC of TUC took a decision and that decision is what we’re trying to push through.”

Asked whether TUC was satisfied with the discussion so far reached, he said, “Yes, we have presented the list of our demands to them and they received it in good faith that they will go back to their principal and come back to us on Tuesday. So we’re hopeful that the demands that we have presented will be reviewed in the best interest of Nigerian workers and the entire Nigerian masses”.

Speaking further he said, “The demands are so long, they are so many, part of it is the demand for a (review) of the minimum wage and we stated that for us, quite apt that the minimum today is not a living wage, as we all know. The value of the minimum wage since it was negotiated, has plummeted to a very abysmal level, as it is today.

“Because they are going back to Mr President, we also think that we should also give them that benefit of the doubt because the things we presented to them the last time, they did not also reveal it before the press so it is also quite apt for them to go back, maybe when we meet on Tuesday, we can dissect them one after the other and be much more specific.”

[dropcap]P[/dropcap]resident Bola Tinubu has appointed Maj.-Gen. Christopher Musa as the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Maj.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja as Chief of Army Staff.

Tinubu also appointed Rear Adm. E.A Ogalla as Chief of Naval Staff and Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar, as Chief of the Air Staff, while Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Undiandeye was appointed Chief of Defence Intelligence among others.

He is a member of the 38th Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy and was commissioned on Sept. 21, 1991, into the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps.

Musa holds a Masters’s Degree in Defence Studies, from the National Defence University Changing in Beijing China.

He has held several command appointments in the cause of his military career and was at the thick of the fight against Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists for over a decade.

He was Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai in the North East, before his deployment as Commander of Infantry Corps, from where he was appointed as CDS.

The new COAS, Lagbaja hails from Ilobu in Oṣun and is a member of the 39 regular courses of the Nigerian Defence Academy.

He holds a Bachelor degree in Geography from NDA Kaduna and Masters’s Degree from U.S. Army War College.

Until his elevation as COAS, Lagbaja was the Chief of Operation (Army), and had served as General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Kaduna as well as 82 Division, Nigerian Army Enugu.

He had participated and held command positions in several military operations, including Operation HARMONY IV in Bakassi Peninsula, the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Operation ZAKI.

The new Chief of Naval Staff hails from Enugu Ezike in Enugu State and is also a member of 39 Regular Course of NDA.

Until his appointment, he was the Director of Lessons Learnt at the Naval Headquarters Department of Policy and Plans.

Ogalla is a regular combatant and has held several command appointments and attended several courses both home and abroad.

The new CAS, AVM Abubakar was born on Sept. 11 1970 and hails from Shanono Local Government Area in Kano State.

He was enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) as a member of 39 Regular Course of NDA and was commissioned Pilot Officer on Sept.19, 1992.

He was the Air Officer Commanding, Logistics Command until his new appointment and have attended several course.

Abubakar holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna and Basic Flying Training Courses at the 301 Flying Training School Kaduna.

He also attended the National Defence Course at the Nasser Higher Military Academy, Cairo – Egypt, and holds Masters’s Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

The new Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Undiandeye hails from Bedia in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State.

He was until his appointment the Commandant of the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre, Jaji, Kaduna State.

Undiandeye was a member of the Troop Contributing Countries Working Group for the development of second edition of the United Nation Infantry Battalion Manual (UNIBAM) published in 2020 by the UN office of military affairs.

He is of the Intelligence Corps of the Nigerian Army. (NAN)

[dropcap]N[/dropcap]ewly appointed Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun says he feels like a Tiger ready to chase away all the criminals in Nigeria.

He stated this during a chat with State House correspondents on Tuesday after his decoration with the rank of IGP.

He said, “I will tell you that right now, I feel like a Tiger inside of me ready to chase away all the criminals in Nigeria. And some other time, I fell like a lion in me ready to devour all the internal enemies of Nigeria.”

Earlier, Vice President Kashim Shettima decorated the newly-appointed IGP with his new rank at a short ceremony at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The new IGP replaced Baba, who was appointed as the IGP by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021.

[dropcap] R[/dropcap]t. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, the Delta State Governor  has urged Local Government Council Chairmen to check the activities of revenue collectors to reduce the burden of fuel subsidy removal on the people.

Oborevwori made the call when the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria ALGON, Delta State Chapter led by Hon. Victor Ebonka, paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Asaba on Wednesday.

He said that people were facing serious hardship following removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government and cautioned Council chairmen against multiple taxation and avoid taxing the people more at this critical time.

Oborevwori said; “funding remains a challenge in our local government councils. It is our hope that with the removal of the fuel subsidy, more monies will be accrued to the local governments and states.

“But until such happens, we urge you to be very prudent and creative in the management of your resources. Even though taxes are pertinent sources of council’s revenue, I want to assure you that the conflicting issues and laws will be handled.

“With the hardship we are facing now with this subsidy removal, I want to appeal to you to talk to your people, your agents and tax collectors not to impose unnecessary taxes on our people.

“There are a lot of expections from our people and at this time, we need to manage them, see how much we are buying fuel now. We are looking for how we can provide palliative for our people.”

He tasked the Councils to take seriously the issues of environmental sanitation and sustainability, adding that “operation keep Delta State clean is a collective responsibility of all.

“In the remaining months of your tenures, one issue I want you to treat with urgency, is sanitation. Last week, I went through the Warri/Effurun area, I called on the Chairmen of Warri and Uwvie Local Government Areas, and discussed with them.

“Every month you do your sanitation and there are provisions to do that; you must keep your environment clean. It is very important to educate our people on the benefits of keeping our environment clean,” he said.

He said local governments play important roles in the development of the grassroot and urged Council Chairmen to ensure proper management of their resources for the good of the people.

“As the third tier of government, the local government plays a very significant role in our democratic setting and political evolution; being the arm of government that is closest to the grassroot.

“I note with delight that the local government administration in the state has been characterised by peace and stability, in addition to strong synergy with the state government”.

The Governor further remarked that his administration would collaborate with local government councils to pay the backlog of pensions owed local government retirees and retired primary school teachers.

“Unlike some states, our local government councils have full control of their finances. In fact, the previous administration regularly assisted with grants, as a result of which we have continued to see steady progress in developing our rural areas.

“We may not have been where we want to be but I am proud of the progress we have made. This administration will sustain the precedent that has been laid by my predecessor.

“We shall not interfere with your finances and we will offer assistance where necessary. In this regard, we shall be collaborating with the Local Government Pension Bureau, to see how the lingering pension issues will be resolved.

“We met last week to discuss the issue but with a caveat that it is necessary to have an Auditor to audit the pension board and see how the process is carried out diligently so that we can know the actual persons who are due for such monies. We don’t want pension funds to be manipulated,” Oborevwori stated.

Earlier, Hon. Ebonka said they were at Government House to formally congratulate Governor Oborevwori on his emergence as Governor and to formally pledge their loyalty to his administration’s M.O.R.E Agenda.

He commended the Governor for his leadership style which brought peace and stability to the legislature, adding that throughout your tenure as Speaker, “no local government council chairman was summoned to the State Assembly rather you set up machinery in place to ensure prompt resolution of disputes.”

He appealed to the Governor to look into conflicting laws regarding building permits, sanitation and waste management even as he lauded the Governor for assisting them to work out modalities to defray pension liabilities owed local government pensioners and retired primary school teachers.