Onyewuchi dumps LP for APC

The Senate has expeditiously considered and passed for Third Reading a bill to amend the Police Act, 2020, thereby extending the tenure of the Inspector General-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun in office.

Contrary to the Principal Act of 2020, which stipulates four-year tenure for an IG, the amendment bill seeks to retain any person appointed into the office of the IGP to remain in office until the end of the term stipulated in the letter of appointment.

Prompted by a letter from President Bola Tinubu, the Senate sprung into action, yesterday, and, with the speed of light, considered and passed for third reading the President’s bill that seeks to amend the Police Act 2020.

In his lead debate, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, explained that the proposed legislation sought to retain a person appointed to the office of Inspector-General of Police to remain in office until the end of the term stipulated in the letter of appointment.

To achieve this, the Senate retained Section 18 of the Principal Act 2020, but inserted a new subsection 8A that makes it mandatory for the IGP to spend four years in office, notwithstanding if he has attained retirement age of 60 or has spent 35 years in service as enshrined in the Civil Service rules

If passed into law, the current Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, will be the chief beneficiary. Egbetokun, who was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, is expected to retire from the Nigeria Police Force on September 4, 2024.

With this amendment, Egbetokun can now remain in office until 2027. In his contribution, Senator Seriake Dickson said that the proposed amendment runs contrary to the constitution and asked that the bill should be stepped down for further consultations.

The Senate shunned all attempts to stop the bill, passing it first, second and third reading in less than 20 minutes.

MEANWHILE, the Senator representing Imo East Senatorial District, Ezenwa Onyewuchi, has left the Labour Party (LP) that won the seat for him to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Onyewuchi, in his letter of defection to the Senate, explained that his decision was due to the intractable division and crisis in the Labour Party that sponsored his election into the Upper Chamber.

The Lawmaker had in 2022 left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the Labour Party.