The Police Service Commission, PSC, said the current campaign for tenure extension is an unnecessary distraction, insisting that all police officers due for retirement must proceed as there is an institutional succession plan in the Nigerian Police.
The officers involved are in the highest echelons of the police force including those in the ranks of Deputy Inspector General, DIG, Assistant Inspector General, AIG, and Commissioner of Police, CP.
However, the commission has dismissed baseless reports in the media that the planned retirement would be suspended and tenure elongation effected to avoid security hiccups in the 2023 election.
PSC spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani made these clarifications in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja after the police management team rose from a meeting recently.
Ani stated that the commission took the decision that it would not extend the tenures of the retiring senior police officers.
He explained that even when requested, PSC cannot acquiesce to the demand as it is against all existing laws, Police Act, the Police Service Commission Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
PSC said it would not encourage the subversion of the laws guiding entry into and exit out of the Nigerian public service, adding that the retiring senior police officers are not indispensable and that their exit would not in any way or manner affect the success of the 2023 general election.