By Dianabasi Effiong
Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), DIG Hashimu Argungu (rtd), has warned that serving Police Officers who are found involved in civil matters such as land, rent and marital matters will henceforth be sanctioned and their promotions suspended.
Argungu noted that the failure of the Police will obviously be the failure of the Commission and said the Commission will no longer condone serious abuse of Office by serving Officers. He said Police Officers should stay clear of civil matters and allow the Civil courts to do their duties.
A press release by the Head, Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani on September 10, Argungu spoke when he received in audience a delegation from the Justice Research Institute led by Mr. Ade IIpaye.
The PSC Chairman declared that he will run a transparent, open and corrupt free administration in the Commission stressing that all funds received by the Commission and spent must be accounted for stressing, “I will never spare thieves wherever I am. We are here to assist the Government fight corruption.
“I come to work before 8am and I am the last person to leave the office, that is leadership, I have not changed and will never change; I know that leadership is everything. My mandate is not to come here to embezzle money, I must ensure transparency and openness and I will fight to the last.”
Argungu assured the visiting team that the Commission will partner with them in the area of training so that staff of the Commission will be exposed to local and international trainings.
Ipaye on his part, expressed his happiness that they have a partner in the PSC Chairman who wants to fight corruption adding that transparency in government has always been a rare commodity.
He said they were in the Commission to assist drive its Constitutional mandate to improve the workings of the Police.
He said they will provide opportunities for the staff of the Commission to be trained to understand their role as a supervisory body of the Nigeria Police Force. “We will ensure that the PSC is trained and that the staff are good enough to discharge its statutory disciplinary functions”.
The PSC Chairman had earlier at a Staff Management Meeting announced the setting up of a Joint Oversight of Recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force. This he said is to ensure a seamless and transparent recruitment process.
The PSC Chairman and the Inspector General of Police according to him will jointly oversee the recruitment process.
He also announced the establishment of Police Recruitment Secretariat at the Police Service Commission headquarters. The Secretariat he said would serve as the central hub for coordinating all recruitment activities, ensuring communication, proper documentation, and efficiency across all stages of the process.
He noted that the portal for recruitment to be accessible for the stakeholders will be domiciled at the Commission’s Corporate Headquarters.