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Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman - Politics - Nairaland

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'EduGate': 8 Controversies That Led To Betta Edu’s ‘downfall’ / Musiliu Smith Resigns As Police Service Commission Chairman / Buhari Appoints Musiliu Smith As Chairman Police Service Commission (2) (3) (4)

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Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by Islie: 9:30pm On Sep 18, 2022
Following the resignation of former Inspector-General of Police Musiliu Smith as the chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), real reasons that led to his exit have begun to surface, Daily Trust on Sunday reports.

Although the management, through the spokesman of the commission, Ikechukwu Ani, told reporters that Smith resigned on “health ground,” findings by Daily Trust on Sunday, however, revealed that accumulation of a wide range of issues led to his ouster.

Ideally, Smith, who was inaugurated on July 25, 2018, alongside other commissioners, was supposed to lead the commission till July 24, 2023 to complete his five-year tenure in line with the laws that established the organisation.

Other commissioners appointed in 2018 alongside Smith and Ogunbiyi include Lawal Bawa, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police (full-time commissioner, North West); Mohammed Najatu (member, North West); Braimoh Austin (member, South South); Rommy Mom, a lawyer (member, North Central) and Dr Nkemka Jombo-Ofo (member, South East).

This newspaper had exclusively reported how Smith was forced to resign during a board meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, after which he was directed to hand over to commissioner 1 and the next in hierarchy, Justice Clara Ogunbiyi (retd).

Ogunbiyi, who retired from the Supreme Court, had since assumed office in acting capacity. She is expected to hold sway pending when President Muhammadu Buhari makes a substantive appointment for the commission.

One of the multiple sources who confided in Daily Trust on Sunday said the board meeting discussed the possibility of amending the PSC Act to remove a section which states that a retired Inspector-General of Police be appointed to chair the commission.

“Immediately the meeting started, one of the commissioners said the defining characteristic and mission of the commission was that it is a civilian oversight body, external to the police. This requires the PSC to be independent and impartial. It cannot be either of these if it is headed by a retired Inspector-General of Police.

“This mission is destroyed by appointing a recent or former IGP as chairman of the PSC. After thorough deliberations on these issues, a commissioner advised Smith to step aside, after which another commissioner moved a motion, and he accepted,” the source had said.


With the new development in the commission, where ‘a new lease of life’ is expected to be witnessed, Daily Trust on Sunday spotlights seven controversies that brought an abrupt end to the erstwhile chairman’s five-year tenure.

The controversies are of two main headings, which are: effective application of the commission’s constitutional mandate and issues of the internal running of the commission.

Recruitment

At the peak of several attacks, crimes and other security challenges in 2018, stakeholders, as well as Nigerians, called on President Buhari to inject more manpower into the force.

Shortly after Buhari’s approval during the Federal Executive Council meeting to recruit 10,000 constables every year for four years, the recruitment exercise ran into troubled waters when the police insisted that it had the mandate to recruit.

But the PSC also stood its ground, insisting that it was constitutionally empowered to conduct recruitment for the police.

The insistence by the police, according to members of staff of the PSC, amounted to a usurpation of the commission’s mandate and “blatant and shameful disrespect of the constitution.”

The exercise soon became a subject of litigation, with the police under a former Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu winning the first round at a Federal High Court in Abuja.

The ruling of the High Court was later set aside by the Court of Appeal, which declared that the Police Service Commission was constitutionally empowered to conduct the recruitment of police constables.

Promotion scandal

Despite the existence of policies for the processes leading to the promotion of men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), checks showed that the commission continued to abdicate its responsibilities to the police under the Smith-led administration.

The development, according to some commissioners who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday anonymously, resulted to complaints of sharp practices and lopsidedness of opportunities in the NPF.

Checks by our correspondent showed that of all the government employees in Nigeria (including the armed forces and other paramilitary organisations), it is only the personnel of the NPF that do not sit for promotion examinations because there is no law to that effect.

On June 30, this newspaper reported how “undue” promotions given to Ayoola Oladunni and Usman Shugaba, the aides-de-camp to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the First Lady, Aisha Buhari respectively, caused disquiet within the Force.

Both Messrs Oladunni and Shugaba were allegedly promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) from their previous rank of Chief Superintendents of Police (CSP) with the recommendation from the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, without much input from the PSC.

In lucid term, the duo were promoted two steps ahead of their colleagues who joined the Force as ASP. They have remained on the rank of DSP or SP since they joined the Force. This misdemeanour, according to officials of the PSC, is not unconnected with the lackadaisical attitude of the Smith-led administration.

Dismissal of police officers

Recently, Inspector-General of Police Usman Alkali Baba dismissed some officers of the Force over misdemeanours capable of bringing the force into disrepute.

The Nigerian Police Force had in July dismissed an officer, Richard Gele, who was justifying extortion in a video clip that had since gone viral on the social media.

The IGP also approved the dismissal of a police officer in the Cross River command, Liyomo Okoi, after he was recently filmed in a viral video beating a civilian with a cutlass on July 31, 2022.

The developments, according to some officials, are some of the main reasons other commissioners and members of staff raised the eyebrow against the erstwhile PSC chairman.

They alleged that the commission had totally abdicated its responsibility in that regard for the police, saying it is only the commission that is empowered to discipline erring officers of the force in line with the 1999 constitution as amend.

Non-regular meeting

In the same vein, some commissioners who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday explained that during the reign of the former IGP as the commission’s boss, their meeting was not up to five times.

The official said, “I don’t think our meeting was up to five times during the tenure of the immediate past chairman. Ordinarily, we are supposed to meet regularly in order to iron out some pertinent issues, but such never happened.

“This issue of recruitment is not supposed to get to this level where workers in the commission would paralyse our activities before attending to their grievances in that regard.

‘”There are many decisions management members were supposed to have made, which were affecting the commission before now, but we didn’t make it because of the former head’s body language. The good thing is that everything appears to have come to an end.”

Amendment of PSC Act

Stakeholders in the commission appeared uncomfortable with some parts of the PSC Act, especially the part which states that a retired Inspector-General of Police should head the agency.

Checks by Daily Trust on Sunday showed that in 2017, prominent among the recommendations of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms was the amendment of the PSC Establishment Act of 2001.

Pages 61 to 71 of the document as obtained recommend that the chairman of the PSC should not be a retired police officer.

Several reasons were given for this recommendation, chief of which is the obvious inability of a former police boss to dispassionately handle the affairs of the commission and the personnel of the police, whom he worked with prior to his retirement.

Alleged fraud and non-completed office complex

Speaking with reporters at a press briefing last week, the chairman of the Joint Union Congress, PSC chapter, Adoyi Adoyi, said workers suspected that funds meant for the completion of their office complex had been mismanaged by the Smith-led administration.

Although Daily Trust on Sunday could not independently verify Adoyi’s claim, he, however, referred our reporter to the permanent site of the commission, located in Jabi in Abuja Municipal Area Council.

He said one of the reasons they passed a vote of no confidence on Smith was because of non-completion of the building despite huge funds earmarked for the project.

“It is quite unfortunate that members of staff from some departments were directed to resume work at the commission’s headquarters in Jabi some weeks ago, but they were turned back by the site engineer, who claimed that the organisation had not fulfilled the essential financial commitments,” Smith said.

Staff welfare

Virtually on a daily basis, workers in the commission lament neglect by the management under the leadership of the erstwhile chairman.

Speaking on the matter, Adoyi said, “As a responsible union, we make bold to state that all the conditions necessary for continuous working harmony have been breached by the management; hence our resort to continue with our agitation until our earlier agreements are fully implemented.

“Following from the above, therefore, the union and the entire staff do hereby serve a notice of indefinite strike to the management, beginning on August 29, 2022.”

PSC to shortlist police job applicants next month

Meanwhile, the management of the PSC says its portal for the application of police constables is still running till September 26, after which the new management will shortlist successful applicants.

Ikechukwu Ani, the spokesman of the commission, in an interview with our reporter on Friday, explained that the recruitment was being done in line with the laws of the Federal Character Commission (FCC).

“The portal is still running. The exercise is being done as scheduled. The shortlist will be done after September 26 when the portal must have been closed,’” Ani said.

https://dailytrust.com/7-controversies-that-ousted-erstwhile-psc-chairman-musiliu-smith

1 Like

Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by Eriggs: 5:27am On Sep 19, 2022
In many countries, the Police Service Commission serves mainly as a watchdog of the police with the main functions of investigating and determining matters of discipline and rule of law, particularly in instances where men or officers of the police are accused of violating human rights.
Recruitment and promotion of rank-and-file officers are usually internal matters of the police, not the Police Service Commission...cc:MNG

9 Likes

Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by Ekem1(f): 5:27am On Sep 19, 2022
Nothing is working in this country

1 Like

Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by Tonypen247(m): 5:28am On Sep 19, 2022
Hmmn
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by Tetrahedron: 5:29am On Sep 19, 2022
Scrap the PSC its useless, its another means of squandering tax payers money.
Urchins take note:
like Adedibu like Tinubu

3 Likes 1 Share

Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by LiveWithIt: 5:29am On Sep 19, 2022
grin
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by OrdinaryNigeria(m): 5:30am On Sep 19, 2022
grin hi
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by money121(m): 5:30am On Sep 19, 2022
Ok
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by bestman09(m): 5:33am On Sep 19, 2022
sad
PSC is just another outlet to empower and compensate retired supporters of the government at the detriment of the masses and the economy. The amount budgeted for the commission is enough to fund and arm the police and make them a world class force.
Embezzlement and corruption is the bane of this nation.

Btw, do we have Army service commission?
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by Musingalone: 5:34am On Sep 19, 2022
Ok
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by Olu1000: 5:39am On Sep 19, 2022
What more can I say ? It’s tough for the PSC to enforce its mandate as the Nigerian Police are always trying to ursurp its powers and disregard the commission.
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by headbasher96(m): 5:39am On Sep 19, 2022
only in nigeria tueh
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by Unigrad: 6:10am On Sep 19, 2022
Corruption in different places.
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by computergenius(m): 6:53am On Sep 19, 2022
The Nigeria police force is one of the most corrupt Police force in the world. It is full of so many crooks and criminals and clowns parading themselves as officers. The NPF claim to have 80,000 officers and up to 300,000 workers including spies yet there is insecurity everywhere in Nigeria. Bribery and extortion of money from motorists seems to be their major interest.
Many Nigeria police men shameless ally with corrupt politicians to steal public fund. Some aid criminals in oil theft. Others aid drug smugglers.
Some Nigerian police officers aid fraudsters that defraud people of their money. Fraudulent land sellers that sell one piece of land to many people often have accomplices in the nearby police stations that prevent the defrauded people from attesting the defrauders.
It is well known that police officers force people to pay for Bail that is supposed to be free. It is well known that police officers steal public fund by selling lies and fake information to the government.
There are many variations of these type of fraud. The latest is police officers allying with thieving employers to steal workers salary and workers pension funds running into billions of dollars.

1 Like

Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by Bimpe29: 6:58am On Sep 19, 2022
If the reasons highlighted above are true, then Mr Smith is not only to be axed but also sanctioned for these mediocrities and corruption.
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by kushma(m): 7:58am On Sep 19, 2022
Every sector in Nigeria is so corrupt, I don’t know how this people will want the economy to advance always looking for ways to manipulate things to suit their selfish agenda.
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by TUTU147: 9:04am On Sep 19, 2022
Psc is not working for the betterment of the police force, the welfare of the police, training, enlistment are supposed to be supervised by the psc.Both the psc and the police authority are all corrupt.
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by TUTU147: 9:11am On Sep 19, 2022
Olu1000:
What more can I say ? It’s tough for the PSC to enforce its mandate as the Nigerian Police are always trying to ursurp its powers and disregard the commission.
How can the psc have power to recruit,it is only police you see civilian trying to do police work.recruitment and training is the work of the police authority, while supervisory is the work of psc.
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by SIMONEKPA7: 9:50am On Sep 19, 2022
Trash.... The PSC should be scrapped...... They cant be doing the work of the Police. Recruitment and promotion , it is the duty of the Police
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by rhymesnoni(m): 2:14pm On Sep 19, 2022
SIMONEKPA7:
Trash.... The PSC should be scrapped...... They cant be doing the work of the Police. Recruitment and promotion , it is the duty of the Police

If you scrab Police Service Commission, which government agency would be in charge of the Promotion and checking mating activities of Nigerian Police officers?

Don't let anyone deceive you, the level of corruption in Nigeria Police force is mad and the excesses can only be checked by an organized body like PSC.

Immigration, Civil Defence and Federal Fire Service also have a commission like this. one of the responsivities of this commission is that it does recruitment of the Officer cadre of the force while the force itself do recruitments of Junior cadre.

The main board of contention is that the PSC is headed by a retire IG, this is done to avoid a situation where a sitting IG controls the commission's chairman.


I personally think they should amend the part of PSC act and allow for a Civilian Chairman and also allow the Police force do recruitments of recruits while the commission do recruitment of officer cadre.
Re: Musiliu Smith: 7 Controversies That Ousted Erstwhile PSC Chairman by HarlequinLekex: 2:22pm On Sep 19, 2022
The fact that this man resigned doesn't erases the fact that he did some wuru wuru in the office ooooooooo

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