Senator Ibrahim Gaidam, the Minister of Police Affairs, says he is stepping in to resolve the conflict between the Police Service Commission and the Nigeria Police Force.
News About Nigeria reports that the dispute began after the Police Service Commission released a list of 10,000 successful applicants for police recruitment on June 4.
The list included candidates for constable and specialist roles in the Nigeria Police Force.
However, the police force rejected the list on June 15, citing corruption and irregularities in the recruitment process.
The police force alleged that the exercise was compromised, leading to the rejection of the list.
The Minister of Police Affairs is now intervening to address the issues and find a resolution.
He said the goal is to resolve the dispute and move forward with the recruitment process in a fair and transparent manner.
The statement by the Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, read, “Several names of persons purported to be names of successful candidates are those who did not even apply and therefore did not take part in the recruitment.”
Following the action of the police, the commission’s union called for the removal of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, for misrepresenting facts on the recruitment.
The PSC, in its first response on the matter, challenged the police to provide evidence to substantiate its claim that the recruitment exercise was characterised by corruption.
On June 25, the PSC Head of Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, stressed that the final list of successful candidates from the recruitment would never be cancelled, insisting that the exercise was done in accordance with relevant laws.
Speaking on the intervention by the minister, the Ministry of Police Affairs spokesperson, Bolaji Kazeem, on Friday told our correspondent that the minister was working to reconcile the two organisations.
He added that the minister would ensure that the issue did not spiral out of control.
Kazeem said, “Minister working underground to resolve the issue between the two organisations. He doesn’t want the matter to go out of hand.”