Udom lauds police over peace, security in A/Ibom

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has lauded the Police and other security agencies in the country for their cooperation in maintaining relative peace over the years in Nigeria.

He has however advocated for the redeployment of intelligence mechanisms to enhance the efficiency of the Police.

Udom made this known during the opening of a two-day Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, at Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo.

The governor in his remarks thanked the Inspector General of Police for the choice of Akwa Ibom to host the Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, stating that the event with the theme ‘The New Police Vision- A Roadmap for Stabilizing Internal Security was timely considering the security challenges in the country.

“Let me also use this opportunity to thank the Inspector- General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba for selecting our State as the venue for this retreat.

“I have always advocated for a robust redeployment of intelligence apparati, both human and electronic because we should also look at the root causes of why people embrace criminal activities especially among our youths: Issue of unemployment and hopelessness must be tackled and addressed holistically”, the governor noted.

He urged the Police Force to make the retreat count, by adopting new strategies and ideas that will chart a new course towards the security architecture of Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who opened the two-day conference and retreat for senior police officers, at Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo, reiterated his commitment towards reforming the Nigeria Police Force, through re-equipping and re-engineering its internal security architecture for efficient operations.

The President who was represented by Mohammed Dingyadi, the minister of Police Affairs, lauded Usman Baba, Police IG, for the initiative to organize the conference and retreat for senior police officers, and pledged to partner them to improve the services of the Nigeria Police.

“I salute the pragmatic support from the host Governor Udom Emmanuel and the good people of the State for their commitment in hosting us at this event.

“his administration has prioritized the reform, re-equipment and re-engineering of the Nigeria Police being the lead and most critical agency in the internal security architecture of our dear country. I want to assure you that we will continue to partner with you towards improving the services of the Police in this country”, he stated.

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Also speaking, his counterpart from Ekiti State and Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Kayode Fayemi, stated that Governors in the 36 States of the Federation remain resolute in their primary responsibility of providing security and welfare to citizens and assured of continuous partnership with the Nigeria Police Force.

Fayemi re-echoed the commitment of the Governors in augmenting the support from the Federal Government to the Police Force and commended the IGP, Usman Baba, for his initiative to rejig the force and his expeditious attention to security matters.

“We will continue to support the Minister of Police Affairs in the task of delivering security and safety to Nigerian citizens by augmenting what he is doing and what our principal the President is doing at the federal level in our various states as much as we can, as much as the resources in our states permit us to do.

“But I must say that since the present IGP took over the reins of office, we are particularly delighted at the way he has taken the partnership with states, ” he added.

In a goodwill message, Haliru Jika, the chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, commended the IGP for his capacity to implement the resolution of the National Assembly to restructure the security architecture of the Force for the overall benefit of the people.

Jika who read the message of the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan pointed out that the essence of the retreat represents the element of change required to reposition the primary mandate of the Nigeria Police Force.

In another goodwill message, Bello Kumo, the chairman, House Committee on Police Affairs, reiterated the readiness of the Committee on Police Affairs to partner with the Nigeria Police Force to ensure synergy in tackling security challenges in the country.

Earlier in a welcome address, Usman Baba, IGP welcomed stakeholders and participants to the retreat, stating that in line with the theme of the event, the agency seeks to utilize the forum in reviewing the vision, mission and strategies to assess the police reform Initiative in the previous leadership.

The IGP further noted that the retreat among other critical areas of security will undertake a holistic assessment of the current internal security threats of crime dynamics in the country, assuring that factors endangering crime will be identified as the strategies will be re-evaluated.