The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has clarified that contrary to the misinformation being circulated on social media and in the news, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, did not lobby for tenure elongation.
This clarification was contained in a statement issued on Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
He explained that what President Bola Tinubu, approved for the IGP was not an extension of tenure, but rather the proper application of the law governing the tenure of the office of the IGP.
ACP Adejobi contended that the appointment letter being circulated on the social media was issued to the IGP shortly after his appointment was confirmed by the Police Council.
The letter, dated 3rd November 2023, according to him, clearly stated that the President had approved a four-year tenure for the IGP in accordance with the provisions of Section 215(a) and Section 28(c) of the Third Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
Emphasising that the IGP does not need to lobby for any tenure extension as his appointment letter explicitly grants him a four-year tenure from the date of his appointment.
The Force PRO maintained that the ongoing circulation of false information was clearly the handiwork of pessimists and mischief makers who are determined to spread baseless narratives against the office and the personality of the IGP for obvious reasons and pecuniary gains.
He noted that the IGP has since been issued with another letter in accordance with the provisions of the Police Act, 2020 (as amended), which supersedes the earlier correspondence, adding that the clarification was necessary to put an end to the speculations and falsehoods being spread.
He, therefore, urged the public to disregard the unfounded reports and to trust that the tenure of the IGP was in full compliance with the laws governing the Nigeria Police Force.
Adejobi said, in clear terms, IGP’s tenure of office is not subject to unnecessary debate and should not be a source of perennial distraction to policing system in Nigeria, saying that the law is sacrosanct.
