President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sent an executive bill to the House of Representatives, seeking amendment of the Nigeria Police Act in accordance with section 58 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The amendment seeks to alter the Police Act in relation to the appointment and tenure of office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
The bill seeks to amend the Nigeria Police Act, 2020 (“Principal Act”) to enable the person appointed as IGP to remain in office until the end of term stipulated in the letter of appointment.
The bill seeks that Section 18 of the Principal Act is amended by adding a new subsection (8A) – “(8A) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (8) of this section, any person appointed to the office of Inspector-General of Police shall remain in office until the end of the term stipulated in the letter of appointment in line with the provisions of Section 7(6) of this Act”.
While reading the correspondence at plenary, Tajudeen Abbas, the speaker, said, “Here is another executive bill. The message reads as follows: “Transmission of Nigeria Police Act Amended Bill 2024.
“Function .to section 58 sub section 2 of the federal constitution of Nigeria as amended I forward here the above bill for consideration and passage by the house of Representatives.
“The Nigeria Police Amended bill 2024 seeks to amend the Nigeria Police Act 2020 with respect to appointment and tenure of the Inspector General of Police and related matters. While hoping that the House of Representatives Will consider this submission in its usual expeditious manner, please accept, RT Honorable Speaker, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
The bill has been passed for a second reading and sent to the Committee on the Whole.
Currently, the Act says that an officer considered for the position of Inspector General of Police must have at least four years in service.
However, the president did not take that into consideration in the appointment of Kayode Egbetokun, current IGP who is due for retirement in a few months.
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