As the tenure of the incumbent Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase comes to an end in June this year, intense lobbying and profiling of possible successors of his successor has commenced, with six top Police officers jostling for the number cop position in the country.
They are AIG Hassan Bala Abdulahi, AIG Johnson Ogunsakin, Olufemi Adebowale Adenaike, CP Austin Iwar, AIG Umar Abubakar Manko and Ibrahim Idris.
By next month, Arase, the number one police officer in the country would have attained the mandatory age of 60.
LEADERSHIP Weekend recalls that presidency deliberately allowed the IGP to complete his tenure by ignoring the option of sending him on terminal leave due to the impressive manner he was handling the high rate of insecurity in the country.
A dependable source revealed to LEADERSHIP Weekend that Arase’s retirement date draws closer, some senior police officers and prominent persons have have started lobbying for themselves and on behalf of others.
But LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered reliably that the presidency is more disposed to picking Arese’s successor based on professionalism, competence and integrity, which is different from the old ways of mere favouritism, ethnicity and religious considerations.
Our source who preferred not be named in print said, “Although people have been lobbying for themselves and on behalf of others- one just left my office this afternoon- what I have told each of them is that the President is not somebody you go and talk to on such matters because he is a retired military Officer himself.
“He understands what is good and what destroys the service. I think the easiest thing this president can ever do is to choose the service chiefs. So, lobbying would not help anybody, in fact it will even destroy your case.
“I believe he will look at their antecedents, their records, qualification, competence and let me say this, nobody should lobby for anything because Buhari will not accept anybody he knows would not able to do the job. I cannot even speak to him , but if, he asks me, of course I would make an input, but ultimately it is going to be based on merit, competence, records of service, professionalism and integrity”, the source.
LEADERSHIP checks revealed that about four Assistant Inspectors General and two Commissioner of Police are in the line of succession as Solomon Arase bows out in June.
The contest for who succeeds the current Inspector General of Police is keen, as the lobbyists are said to be doing everything possible to ensure their candidates emerge the number one Police officer for the country.
It was also gathered that politicians, traditional rulers, business moguls as well as some past Inspectors General of Police have been enlisted in the various lobby camps.
AIG Hassan Bala Abdulahi: Born on August 25, 1959 in Nasarawa local government area in Kano State, AIG Abdulahi holds a degree in Chemistry from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1981), a Masters degree in Law from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology and M.Sc, Strategic Studies from the University of Ibadan and is currently Phd candidate in Policing and Community Safety, Abdulahi. He is currently the AIG in charge of Zone 2. He has held several positions, including Commissioner of Police Edo, Rivers and Abia states. He is also one-time commissioner in charge of Mobile Police Force at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. Abdullah is expected to retire from service in December 2017.
AIG Johnson Ogunsakin: Born on August 1, 1957 from Ekiti, Ogunsakin is AIG in charge of zone 10. The former state was Commissioner of Police, Rivers State holds a degree in Political Science/History from the University of Ife (1980). He joined the force on December 8, 1982 and is also due for retirement on August 1, 2017. He has held various command positions, including Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit, and head of operations, Economic and Financial Crimes Commissions (EFCC).
Olufemi Adebowale Adenaike: Born on December 3, 1958, Adenaike who hails from Ogun state joined the Police force on December 8, 1982. He is currently the AIG in charge of the Department of Training and Development at the Force Headquarters. He has held various positions, including Commissioner of police Kaduna State command and Commissioner of Police, Federal Operations at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. Has a degree in Sociology from the University of Lagos, Masters Degree in Sociology from the same university. He is due for retirement from service in December, 2017.
CP Austin Iwar: He is the current commissioner of Police, Gombe State command and hails from Benue State. Before his elevation to his present position, he was principal staff officer to former IGP Sulaiman Abba, where he was responsible for the strategic management and handling of complex situations and multiple responsibilities simultaneously; assisting in the strategic planning and supervision of the implementation of NPF plans on behalf of the IGP; management of IGP’s schedules; secretary to IGP’s management meetings; management and leadership of IGP secretariat staff made up of senior officers with responsibilities for; Performance Management of the NPF; Police Reforms; Policy and Strategy; Intelligence Management; Investigation, Human Rights and Legal Issues; Strategic Communications; Intergovernmental Affairs; International Cooperation; This role also includes supervision of IGPs administrative staff; liaison with Senior Management Team. Iwar who is also a graduate of London Metropolitan University is presently a PhD candidate. What stands as an advantage for him despite being junior to the other contenders is that his state, Benue, has never produced IGP before. Besides, while the constitution says any senior officer can be made IGP, it does not specify a particular rank to be attained before qualifying for the police top job.
AIG Umar Abubakar Manko: Born on June 14, 1958, Manko who hails from Niger State was a one-time Commissioner of Police for Lagos State, and AIG in charge of zone 2, before he was moved to the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos. Manko who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from the University of Sokoto, enlisted into the police as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police on December 31, 1984. He has held several positions, including Commissioner of Police (administration), at the Police Academy, Kano; CP, Airport Command; CP, Kaduna and Sokoto states commands. Manko is due for retirement in June 2018.
CP Ibrahim Idris: Having obtained two academic degrees of law and agriculture at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and University of Maiduguri, respectively, Idris had also attended numerous courses and trainings in Nigeria and abroad and partook in several peace keeping missions in many countries of the world. CP Idris started his police career in 1984 when he joined the force as Cadet ASP after which he was posted as Gusau Police Divisional Crime Officer in 1986 and later Unit Commander 7PMF Sokoto between 1987 and 1989. Owing to his excelling competence, unique performance, commitment to duty and doggedness, CP Idris was elevated to the rank of Deputy Police Commissioner Operations and Second in Command at the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor Leste UNMIT between 2009 to April 2011 and again, Acting Police Commissioner UNMIT. In July of the same year he was appointed Kano State Commissioner of Police, a position he held until February 2013 when he was selected to attend Senior Police Officers Course at Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Kuru (NIPSS) where he bagged the prestigious mni membership.
Source:Leadership Newspaper
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