Why Buhari Appointed Usman Alkali As Nigeria’s New Police Chief — VP. Osinbajo

President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Usman Alkali as the Acting
Inspector General of Police because he was the most senior among
those qualified to hold the position, an official has said.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said this Wednesday in Abuja while
decorating Mr Alkali as with his new position.

Mr Buhari, who appointed Mr Alkali, is currently in the UK for
medical treatment.

“Your selection by Mr President follows a rigorous process where
all eligible Deputy Inspectors-General of Police and Assistant
Inspectors-General of police were considered. The president then
appointed you as the most senior qualified and eligible officer,”
Mr Osinbajo said.

Read the full statement by the vice president
below.

Let me once again offer my congratulations to you, new
Inspector-General of Police on your appointment. Your selection by
Mr President follows a rigorous process where all eligible Deputy
Inspectors-General of Police and Assistant Inspectors-General of
police were considered. The president then appointed you as the
most senior qualified and eligible officer. This is a departure
from the past when the selection of the new Inspector General of
Police often meant the immediate retirement of a cohort of senior
police officers whose vast experience and training would no longer
be available to the country.

This appointment, which is largely on the basis of seniority
and competence, will ensure that you have access to professional
and experienced officers to support you in your new role.

Before I go on, let me thank the outgoing Inspector General
of Police. I want to thank you for your services to this nation.
And for your innovative work carried on through your years as the
Inspector-General of Police; thank you for your services to
Nigeria. IG, you are assuming office at a very turbulent time in
the life of our people. There are multiple threats to law, order
and public safety.

The role of law enforcement and particularly that of the
police force as primary agency charged with maintaining law and
order has never been more important. The police is our institution
of first resort, the first line of defence against crime and
anarchy and the first sign of the strength of the state.

Last year, Mr President signed the new police act, the first
police reform legislation to be enacted in almost 50 years. The Act
is the centrepiece of our commitment to reinventing the police as
an institution that we can all be proud of. It articulates this
administration’s vision of the modern competent police force as an
institution committed to the preservation of human rights and human
dignity and protection of the public against all criminal threats.
The challenges before you are indeed onerous and will test your
mettle, the organisation you are leading is one that is itself
facing several challenges. Your officers work still in extremely
difficult conditions. And some face the threat of physical harm by
terrorists, hostile non-state actors while in the line of duty but
they have lived up to expectations.

There is no question at all that there is a lot that needs
to be done. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. Under
your leadership. The police must now rebuild in some ways also the
broken bridges of trust to the public and regain the confidence of
the citizenry. This is an ongoing challenge, it is an ongoing task
that the police force and all of the senior members of the police
force must take on as a responsibility, that of the continual
process of building trust to the Nigerian people.

One of the ways you can do this is by implementing the
community policing policy which had already taken off and
reconceptualizing policing as a task carried out in partnership
with local communities and by officers who are members of these
localities. Under your leadership, the force must live up to all of
the highest standards of professional conduct and compliance with
the rule of law. It must significantly improve the welfare and
working conditions of its officers while rapidly scaling on its
forensic, logistical, logistical and operational capacities. To
meet today’s challenges. You must stamp out the excesses and abuses
and the culture of impunity, demonstrated by some elements of the
force which provoke public outrage against institution. In short,
your mission is nothing less than the restoration of dignity and
high repute of the policing professional and the continuous oiling
of that machinery of the police force that enables it to be one
that is respected by the populace and by the international
community.

The testimony of your pedigree and your career thus far is
that you are up to the task. The administration stands ready to
work with you to reposition the NPF and take it to unprecedented
height of professionalism, competence and excellence. I, therefore,
welcome you as a key partner to this administration’s comprehensive
programme of reform aimed at repositioning the Nigeria Police Force
as a modern, responsive and citizen-centred law enforcement
service. We all expect that you will justify the confidence that Mr
President has repose to you, enable you to lead the force in these
times. I congratulate you once more on behalf of Mr President, and
his cabinet. I wish you all the very best in your tenure. Thank
you.

President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Usman Alkali as the Acting
Inspector General of Police because he was the most senior among
those qualified to hold the position, an official has said.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said this Wednesday in Abuja while
decorating Mr Alkali as with his new position.

Mr Buhari, who appointed Mr Alkali, is currently in the UK for
medical treatment.

“Your selection by Mr President follows a rigorous process where
all eligible Deputy Inspectors-General of Police and Assistant
Inspectors-General of police were considered. The president then
appointed you as the most senior qualified and eligible officer,”
Mr Osinbajo said.

Read the full statement by the vice president
below.

Let me once again offer my congratulations to you, new
Inspector-General of Police on your appointment. Your selection by
Mr President follows a rigorous process where all eligible Deputy
Inspectors-General of Police and Assistant Inspectors-General of
police were considered. The president then appointed you as the
most senior qualified and eligible officer. This is a departure
from the past when the selection of the new Inspector General of
Police often meant the immediate retirement of a cohort of senior
police officers whose vast experience and training would no longer
be available to the country.

This appointment, which is largely on the basis of seniority
and competence, will ensure that you have access to professional
and experienced officers to support you in your new role.

Before I go on, let me thank the outgoing Inspector General
of Police. I want to thank you for your services to this nation.
And for your innovative work carried on through your years as the
Inspector-General of Police; thank you for your services to
Nigeria. IG, you are assuming office at a very turbulent time in
the life of our people. There are multiple threats to law, order
and public safety.

The role of law enforcement and particularly that of the
police force as primary agency charged with maintaining law and
order has never been more important. The police is our institution
of first resort, the first line of defence against crime and
anarchy and the first sign of the strength of the state.

Last year, Mr President signed the new police act, the first
police reform legislation to be enacted in almost 50 years. The Act
is the centrepiece of our commitment to reinventing the police as
an institution that we can all be proud of. It articulates this
administration’s vision of the modern competent police force as an
institution committed to the preservation of human rights and human
dignity and protection of the public against all criminal threats.
The challenges before you are indeed onerous and will test your
mettle, the organisation you are leading is one that is itself
facing several challenges. Your officers work still in extremely
difficult conditions. And some face the threat of physical harm by
terrorists, hostile non-state actors while in the line of duty but
they have lived up to expectations.

There is no question at all that there is a lot that needs
to be done. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. Under
your leadership. The police must now rebuild in some ways also the
broken bridges of trust to the public and regain the confidence of
the citizenry. This is an ongoing challenge, it is an ongoing task
that the police force and all of the senior members of the police
force must take on as a responsibility, that of the continual
process of building trust to the Nigerian people.

One of the ways you can do this is by implementing the
community policing policy which had already taken off and
reconceptualizing policing as a task carried out in partnership
with local communities and by officers who are members of these
localities. Under your leadership, the force must live up to all of
the highest standards of professional conduct and compliance with
the rule of law. It must significantly improve the welfare and
working conditions of its officers while rapidly scaling on its
forensic, logistical, logistical and operational capacities. To
meet today’s challenges. You must stamp out the excesses and abuses
and the culture of impunity, demonstrated by some elements of the
force which provoke public outrage against institution. In short,
your mission is nothing less than the restoration of dignity and
high repute of the policing professional and the continuous oiling
of that machinery of the police force that enables it to be one
that is respected by the populace and by the international
community.

The testimony of your pedigree and your career thus far is
that you are up to the task. The administration stands ready to
work with you to reposition the NPF and take it to unprecedented
height of professionalism, competence and excellence. I, therefore,
welcome you as a key partner to this administration’s comprehensive
programme of reform aimed at repositioning the Nigeria Police Force
as a modern, responsive and citizen-centred law enforcement
service. We all expect that you will justify the confidence that Mr
President has repose to you, enable you to lead the force in these
times. I congratulate you once more on behalf of Mr President, and
his cabinet. I wish you all the very best in your tenure. Thank
you.