Senate Confirms Arase’s Appointment As PSC Chairman
The Senate has confirmed President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of Mr Solomon Arase as Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC).
Arase’s confirmation by the Upper legislative Chamber’s plenary on Wednesday came after the consideration of a report by the Committee on Police Affairs.
Chairman of the Committee (APC-Bauchi), Senator Jika Halliru, who presented the report, said Arase’s nomination followed section 154, sub-section 1 of the 1999 constitution.
According to him, sections two A and B of the Police Service Commission Establishment Act 2001 also required the President to nominate Nigerians of proven integrity as members of the PSC.
He explained that Arase meets the legal requirements to be the proper person to be appointed as Chairman of PSC, especially given his qualifications and relevant experience gained over the years.
Senator Halliru said the Committee has no hesitation in recommending that the Red Chamber should confirm his appointment as PSC Chairman.
In his remarks, Senator Ajayi Boroffice (APC-Ondo) noted the robust academic profile and career of the nominee, describing his nomination as a “round peg in a round whole.”
Additionally, Senator Boroffice said his appointment would be of immense benefit to the PSC having served in various capacities in the Nigerian police service.
The Commission’s vision is; “To be a leading and exemplary civilian oversight body on Police, committed to building an international standard Police Service that responds to the security demands of the citizenry through prevention and prompt detection of crime, which is respected, trusted and in close partnership with the community it serves”
Similarly, its mission is “To change the Nigeria Police Force to the Nigeria Police Service through modern democratic policing ethics, performing with courage, diligence, honesty, and impartiality as a highly motivated, professionally, disciplined, efficient, accountable and corruption free Police Service towards the development of adequate institutional capacity in the discharge of the central functions of the Commission.”
However, given the issues and challenges faced by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) over the years, many Nigerians and public commentators have continued to insist that the PSC has unfortunately failed in its mandate execution with corruption as the order of the day.
As the former IGP Arase comes on board, expectations are high that the PSC should hopefully be repositioned for its mandate delivery of changing “the Nigeria Police Force to the Nigeria Police Service through modern democratic policing ethics, performing with courage, diligence, honesty, and impartiality as a highly motivated, professionally, disciplined, efficient, accountable and corruption free Police Service towards the development of adequate institutional capacity in the discharge of the central functions of the Commission.”
