FG to recruit 10,000 police yearly - Dingyadi

The Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Dingyadi, has said 10,000 constables will be recruited yearly into the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

Dingyadi, who spoke on Wednesday during his maiden visit to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, said the process of recruiting the first batch of recruiting 10,000 was still on and had not been stopped. The minister also said the promotion of police officers had not been stopped. “The recruitment process is on and has not stopped. We intend to recruit 10,000 constables annually. The first batch of 10,000 is still in the process.

We will continue to recruit 10,000 next year, by the grace of God. The promotion is ongoing. People who are due to be promoted, I am not aware of any open delay or any glaring delay in promotions. We believe the Police Service Commission (PSC) is up to the task to promote officers due for promotion.

“We are all here to receive complaints or any issue on non-promotion. We would take it up and ensure that the needful is done, by the grace of God,” he said.

On the face-off between the NPF and PSC, Dingyadi said the situation was being blown out of proportion.

He said: “Maybe people are overblowing it. There is nothing serious about. It is an interim misunderstanding and this we are trying to manage.

The two organisations are equal to the task and they are managing themselves very well. We believe it would be history. It is nothing new in organisations. There is always this kind of misunderstanding.

“We don’t need to tell anybody what we are doing but the situation is under control, by the grace of God. Things would continue to normalise and nothing has stopped, for your information. Everything is going on well.  The recruitment, like I said, is on. We have not finished. We are trying to screen and very soon we would tell you where we are.”

The minister expressed fear on the spate of kidnapping for ransom across the country, saying it was not just alarming but also embarrassing. He said the government would come up with new ideas to tackle the problem. Dingyadi said he was aware of the poor state of the barracks and absence of modern equipment and proper welfare package for police personnel.

“That is why the President assented to the bill establishing the Nigeria Police Trust Fund. Plans are already in top gear to set up the trust fund and ensure credible and competent people are put in charge so that the dream of the President and indeed all well-meaning Nigerians and law-abiding citizens to have a professional, responsible and responsive police force that we so cherish,” he said.