The North-East Youth and Elders People’s Forum (NEYEPF) has backed the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun for rejecting the ongoing Police constable recruitment exercise over alleged corruption and irregularities.
The group, in a press statement issued by its national chairman, Alhaji Salihu Magaji, and made available to journalists in Bauchi yesterday, described some people who called for the sack of the IGP as self-centred people who are trying to cover up the allegations raised over the conduct of the exercise.
Magaji said any patriotic citizen who made vital allegations like IGP, deserved to be respected, listened to, and steps taken to address the anomalies he observed in the interest of Nigeria.
According to him, before the IGP raised the alarm and called for a review of the exercise, he received series of complaints and allegations of corruption from unsuspecting candidates and stakeholders regarding the irregularities that marred the exercise, most especially the disappearance of the names of screened candidates who were successful to the last stage.
“The PSC portal was subsequently scrutinised and it was discovered that 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 exercise, and the published list also contains several names of candidates who “failed either the computer-based test (CBT) or the physical screening exercise or both,” he added.
Salihu said the IGP reacted without prejudice to the power of the Commission to recruit for the Police as ruled by the Supreme Court, but this power does not include the power to recruit unqualified and untrained individuals for the police. “No patriotic Nigerian will allow this to happen except if he doesn’t have the way to call for the review in order to help the country have credible and professional police officers,” he added.
The group also called on President Bola Tinubu to order an investigation into the entire exercise and punish whoever is found wanting.