The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has described the extension of the tenure of retired Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu by President Muhammadu Buhari, as illegal and unconstitutional.
President Buhari had on Thursday, extended IGP Adamu’s by three months, according to the Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, while briefing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Dingyadi explained that the decision of the President to extend the IGP’s tenure for another three months was to give time for proper selection of the new helmsman.
But according to the Executive Director of RULAAC, Okey Nwanguma, who spoke to TNC correspondent on Friday, President Buhari should learn to lead by example and not engage in any action that violates the constitution or other laws he’s sworn to defend.
He revealed that Adamu attained 35 years in service on February 1st 2021 and is expected to retire same day.
“Both the Public Service Rule and the Police Act 2020 stipulates that he must go. Where did President Buhari get the powers to extend the tenure of a retired IGP. The decision by the president to extend the tenure of retired IGP Adamu is clear illegality. It is not good for our democracy for the President to violate the law or exercise powers not granted him by law. The retirement date for IGP Adamu was know long before the day came when he attained 35 years in service. It didn’t come suddenly.
“The President ought to have convened the Police Council to discuss the appointment of a new IGP to take over from Adamu.
“For the President to now turn around to claim that he needed time to go through the process of selecting a new IGP is preposterous. It’s a pretext to evade responsibility. It further underscores his contempt for public opinion.
“The public service rule is clear on the tenure of service of any public servant. The Police Act which the President signed in 2020 grants the IGP a one-term tenure of four years. Neither of the laws grants the President the power to extend the tenure of a retired IGP. The President acted illegally and unconstitutionally. He must reverse himself,” Nwanguma maintained.
He said the best Mr President could have done under the circumstance was to direct the retired IGP Adamu to hand over to the most senior DIG pending when the Police Council would wake up from slumber and discharge its constitutional duties.
According to him, it is not late for the President to reverse himself on this clear illegality.
