President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that he was aiming at bequeathing a modernised and motivated Police Force to the country.
The president made the declaration while speaking during the commissioning of operational vehicles and other assets, at the Police Headquarters Friday in Abuja.
He said, “My vision is to bequeath to our nation a legacy of a reformed, modernised, fully-equipped, highly-motivated, and citizens-focused Police Force that is re-oriented to the virtues of professionalism, respect for rule of law, due process and best international practices in their operations.
“It is in cognisance of this that I approved the re-adjustment of Police emoluments as well as the recruitment of ten thousand (10,000) extra police personnel on an annual basis to motivate and enhance the manpower of the Force. It is also in this regard that I assented to the Police Trust Fund Bill to act as a public-private funding framework that will address funding shortages for the Police on a sustainable basis.”
President Buhari, who acknowledged the funding challenge facing the Force, pledged that the federal government would continue to enhance funding as well as work towards meeting manpower requirements and welfare needs of the Force.
He said the full commencement of the “Nigeria Police Trust Fund will further assist in meeting the operational and logistics requirements of the Force,” adding that to “give immediate effect to the Police Trust Fund Act, I have directed the Minister of Police Affairs to fast track the process of its take-off.”
He charged the leadership of the Force “to continue to give a new orientation to officers of the Force such that they can appreciate the virtues of policing with civility and within the dictates of the law and ensure that the institution regains its position of confidence and respect from Nigerians.”
Commending the leadership of the Police for keying into his administration’s Next Level agenda in relation to strengthening institutional capacity towards addressing internal security challenges, the president noted the reforms being undertaken by the Inspector-General of Police “as well as strategies that he has put in place in guaranteeing the efficiency of the Force.”
He said he was “particularly impressed with the technology-led and intelligence-driven models which have combined to bring about the stabilization of the security situation in the country.”
The president, who also commissioned the Nigeria Police National Command and Control Centre (NPF-C4i) and the first phase of the Nigeria Police Crime and Incident Data Base (NPC & IDB) Centre, urged the Police leadership to sustain its “zeal for service to the nation.”
Earlier, in their remarks, the IGP, Mohammed Adamu, and the Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, commended President Buhari for his consistent support to the Police Force.
