THE cold working relationship between the Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd) and the police ended yesterday as he explained how difficult it was working with the immediate past Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris.
Dambazau, who expressed sadness over what transpired during Idris’s tenure, said such should be avoided in the future.
The
minister, who spoke in Abuja when the new Acting IGP, Mohammed Adam,
paid him a working visit, said: “I congratulate the Acting Inspector
General of Police. I appreciate your coming here recognising the
significant of the Ministry of Interior following its supervisory
mandate of the police and other agencies and also its mandate in
internal security and public safety.
“Because we are happy that
you took this step because since November 2015 that I came in here as
minister, Mr. Solomon Arase, who was the then Inspector General of
Police, we had cordial relationship.
“But after Arase left, I
think there was perseverance of relationship between the police and the
Ministry of Interior. Not completely because most of our dealings in
terms of internal security and public safety was with the present DIG
Operations because we thought we must do everything possible regardless
to ensure that we ensure our mandate in terms of police and also ensure
that the police as an institution does not suffer. We are glad today
that you came in with different idea to strengthen this relationship.”
The
minister added: “Throughout the three years, we have presented more
than 25 memorandums to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) that have to
do with policies and projects. But none of those 25 memorandums that
went to FEC included the police. So, this is the kind of things that we
should avoid. You need a parent ministry to represent you at FEC. Except
few memorandums that came from the Police Academy. I think we need to
work together, particularly with the kind of internal security
challenges we are experiencing in this country. We appreciate the idea
of community policing. Ours stops at making policies, but for
implementation, it is absolutely yours. We will not interfere in that.”
He
assured the new police boss of support, adding: “This ministry will
give you all the support you need to succeed. We will work hard with you
as you have suggested that there are internal security challenges and
we will provide for Nigeria the kind of security they deserve.”
On his part, the new police boss acknowledged the fact that there was crisis between the Ministry of Interior and the police.
He promised to change the old ways of operations and embrace peace in order to tackle the country’s internal security.
Adam also vowed to always attend meetings summoned by the minister when necessary.
His
words: “It is a privilege to be received by you today. Since my
appointment as the Acting Inspector General of Police, my thought was
first to visit the Ministry of Interior because it is very important.
“We
are aware of the fact that most policy issues concerning police
operations comes from the Ministry of Interior and we don’t want to be
left out.
“We want to be deeply involved in the activities of the
ministry. We want the minister to know that we (police) are 100 per
cent ready to participate in every activity in the ministry that will
involve security.
“We do have challenges involving
security in the country; challenges that can be surmounted with the
support of the parent ministry.
“If in the past we were not
participating the way we should in the ministry, but now we have
retraced our steps to come back and do the needful for the benefit of
the country and for the benefit of everybody. That is the reason why we
are here. After this meeting, I will go into a closed door meeting with
the minister.”
Findings revealed that the former IGP Ibrahim
Idris did not personally attend any meeting summoned by Dambazau since
assumption of office.
Source:- Thenationonlineng
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