Ohanaeze kicks against lopsided promotion of police commissioners

The apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has faulted the promotion of 37 police officers to the rank of Commissioner of Police with only one slot allocated to the South-East.

The organisation called for a review of the promotion, contending that the alleged continued marginalisation of Igbo in the recruitments and promotions at the federal level under the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s (retd.), was no longer acceptable.

A statement by Ohanaeze’s President-General, Chief Nnia Nwodo, on Sunday, lamented that Igboland was constantly under siege by criminals because people from zones other than the South-East were in charge of security in the region.

The statement partly read, “In the recent promotion carried out by the Nigeria Police Force, 37 officers were promoted to the rank of Commissioner of Police.

“A cursory look at the list shows that the North-West zone has 12 new commissioners of police; North-East, eight; South-West, seven; South-South, five; North Central, four; while predictably South-East brought up the rear with just one new commissioner.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo observes that the already existing imbalance in the force, exemplified in the fact that all police commissioners in the South-East come from the North and not many Ibo officers are in the high echelon of the force, should have made it imperative that more slots be given to the South-East.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo unequivocally condemns and rejects this provocative act of marginalisation.” Punch