The Police Service Commission, PSC, has suspended all pending police promotions until further notice, following its dispute with the inspector-general of police, Mohammed Adamu, over the recruitment of 10,000 constables into the Nigeria Police Force.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the commission’s board with the joint Trade Union Congress in Abuja on Tuesday, September 24, 2019.
NAN gathered that the union had also demanded that the commission seek judicial interpretation of its constitutional mandate for appointment into the force which had been at the centre of the dispute with the police management.
The police and the commission had been at loggerheads over the recruitment of 10,000 constables with the IG insisting on his right to conduct the exercise.
The IG had ignored the suspension of the recruitment by the commission and released a list of successful candidates, which the PSC board said was padded with unqualified candidates who did not take part in the process.
Following the crisis, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the two parties to work together.
But an impeccable source, who was at the meeting between the commission and the TUC, explained that all promotions in the police would be suspended.
NAN also sighted the highlight of the decisions taken at the meeting.
It read in part, “The meeting rose with a management decision to endorse the demand and stand of the union that the commission must seek judicial interpretation of its constitutional mandate for appointment which has been at the centre of the dispute.
“The management also agreed with the union that all police promotions will be suspended until further notice. The union had also demanded that the commission withdraw all delegated powers extended to the IG since they have been abused.”
When contacted, the commission’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, said he had not been briefed on the latest decisions taken by the management on the recruitment crisis.
Meanwhile, the commission has filed an originating summons at the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking a restraining order stopping the IG from taking any further action on the recruitment.
NAN gathered that the case, which was filed on Tuesday, had yet to be assigned to any judge.
NAN learnt that the suit was part of the conditions given to the PSC board by the workers’ union to call off its over one-week-old strike.
Adoyi Adoyi, the union chairman, confirmed the development to NAN on Wednesday, September 25, 2019, on the phone.
The labour leader accused the police of withholding N12 million meant for the commission workers who supervised the Nigeria Police Academy 7th Regular Course degree programmes entrance examination in August.
