Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi, has said the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, will not be retiring midway into the general elections as earlier expected.
He made the clarification while fielding questions from State House reporters after the first Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of the year.
Dingyadi, who said Usman Alkali Baba already had an appointment letter extending his term in office, added that the Police Act 2020 had changed the rules for an IGP’s retirement.
Reports in the media lately suggested that the IGP would be clocking 60 years on March 1, 2023, and would be expected to honour the rule that mandates public servants to go on retirement at 60 years.
But reacting to a question on whether or not the IGP would be retiring as expected, the minister said, “I don’t know where you got your record, but let me say that by the provision of the Police Act 2020, the IG is now supposed to have a kind of four-year period and Mr President has already given him a letter of appointment in that regard. So, the issue of IG going out during this election period does not arise.”
President Muhammadu Buhari appointed the then DIG Baba as the acting Inspector General of Police on April 6, 2021. The Police council confirmed him as the substantive Inspector General of Police on June 2021.
There have been concerns over the expected retirement of the IGP, three Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs), many Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs), Commissioners of Police (CPs) and 290 other policemen in the first quarter of this year.
Dingyadi also said FEC approved a draft bill for an Act to establish Nigeria Police Institutions, which he said is to provide legal backing to the existing training institutions across the country and not to build new ones.
He also said the level of corruption within the Nigeria Police had drastically reduced.