The Niger Delta Congress has reacted to the extension of tenure of the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu by the President, Muhammadu Buhari, stating that the extension was awkward.
The Niger Delta Congress revealed that it has been public knowledge that the IGP’s tenure ends on 1st February which should give the service ample time for the most Senior and next in line, Moses Jitoboh, a Niger Deltan from Bayelsa State to take over.
In a statement issued by the Acting Spokesperson of the NDC, Adokiye Oyagiri, the NDC stated that it uncovered plans to ensure Jitoboh is not appointed IG because of his Christian faith and his being from Southern Nigeria and warned that any further plans to disenfranchise Jitoboh will mean that the Niger Delta region is no longer needed.
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The President Buhari administration’s extension of the tenure of the Inspector General of Police by 3 months has come to the attention of the Niger Delta Congress.
The reason given by the Minister for Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, is to enable the President to take his time to nominate the right person to fill the position of Inspector General of Police.
The Niger Delta Congress finds this awkward, considering that the retirement of the current IG by 1st February has been known to the general public from as early as the third quarter of 2020. It is also a publicly known fact that the next most senior and most experienced officer in line to assume the office of the IG of Police is Moses Jitoboh, a Niger Deltan from Bayelsa State.
The Niger Delta Congress, before now, has come across plans to ensure Jitoboh is not appointed IG because of his Christian faith and his being from Southern Nigeria. The NDC raised an alarm cautioning against this, despite which actions have been set in motion to prevent Moses Jitoboh from assuming said office.
Recently, Mr Jitoboh was transferred to the Research and Development department of the force, which we believe is a prelude to effecting this plan.
The Niger Delta Congress calls on the President to not continue on this path of brazenly disenfranchising qualified Southerners in favour of those from his part of the country, and those with whom he shares the same religion.
The Niger Delta Congress and the people of the region are paying keen attention to the issue surrounding the appointment of a new Chief of Police.
We would consequently like to state that any move to disenfranchise Moses Jitoboh, or Southern Nigeria in general, as has been done so audaciously in recent times, will be seen and translated to mean that the Niger Delta region is no longer needed as a part of the Nigerian federation, and the actions and stance of the region going forward will be guided by this.
