By Oguwike
Nwachuku
At a
brief ceremony at Louis Edet House (otherwise called Force Headquarters) in
Abuja on Wednesday, June 22, out-gone Inspector General of Police (IGP),
Solomon Arase, handed over to his successor, Ibrahim Kpotum Idris. President
Muhammadu Buhari, in exercising his right under Section 215 of the
Constitution, named Idris IGP in acting capacity a day earlier, June 21. He
becomes the 19th IGP.
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| *President Buhari and New IGP Idris |
A statement issued by Buhari’s media aide, Femi Adesina, said Idris was born on
January 15, 1959; hails from Kutigi, Lavum in Niger
State ; and enlisted in the police in
1984, after graduating from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria
He also
holds a degree in law from the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID).
“Idris, who was in charge of Operations at
the Force Headquarters before his appointment as acting Inspector General of
Police, will act in that capacity pending his confirmation,” Adesina said.
Handing
over to him, Arase said Idris “is going
to serve in an acting capacity until the Police Council confirms him. I want to
seize this opportunity to thank Nigerians for the cooperation given me while I
served as Inspector General of Police. By extension, I want to also appeal to
you to give the same support that you gave to me to my successor. He is a
younger man, so I am sure he will be abreast with contemporary policing issues.”
According to Paragraph (a) of Section 215, “An
inspector general of police who, subject to Section 216 (2) of this
Constitution shall be appointed by the president on the advice of the Nigeria Police Council from among serving
members of the Nigeria
Section 171 of the Constitution empowers the president to appoint the secretary
to the government of the federation; head of the civil service of the
federation; ambassador, high commissioner or other principal representative of
Nigeria abroad (subject to confirmation by the Senate); permanent secretary in
any ministry or head of any extra–ministerial department of the government, and
any office on the personal staff of the president.
But Section 216 (2) says, “Before making
any appointment to the office of the inspector general of police or removing
him from office the president shall consult the Nigeria
By the appointment of Idris, Buhari has proved his critics right once more that he is determined to appoint into certain offices those who catch his fancy so long as they are from the Northern part of the country.
By the appointment of Idris, Buhari has proved his critics right once more that he is determined to appoint into certain offices those who catch his fancy so long as they are from the Northern part of the country.
