The Police Service Commission (PSC) has said it will not relinquish its constitutional mandate on the recruitment of police constables to the Nigeria Police Force.
The commission argued that although authorities of the police used the favourable judgment of the Federal High Court to take over the 2020 recruitment exercise, the judgement had been overturned by the Court of Appeal.
Daily Trust on Sunday had reported how protesting workers of the commission locked out the permanent secretary, Williams Alo, and some directors of the PSC on Thursday.
The aggrieved workers had alleged that the chairman of the commission, Musiliu Smith, a retired Inspector-General of Police, was conniving with the incumbent Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to take over the recruitment of 10,000 constables.
The PSC, in a statement by its spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, while acknowledging the rights of the workers to embark on strike frowned on the forceful locking of the offices.
The statement said, “It is necessary to state unequivocally that the recruitment of police officers from the rank of constables to Cadet Inspectors and Cadet ASPs is and remains the constitutional responsibility of the commission and this was also affirmed not long ago by a judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal.
”The management of the commission has no intention to abdicate this constitutional responsibility. At no time did management willingly surrender the commission’s mandate to the Nigeria Police Force. This, it will never contemplate.’’
On the 2021 staff promotion, the commission said it would approve the recommendation of its standing committee on establishment at the next plenary.
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