The Integrity Youth Alliance has said that the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, did not oppose the Police Service Commission’s (PSC) order mandating the immediate retirement of officers who have served for over 35 years or are over 60.
Reacting to various media publications on Friday, February 7th, 2025, the Alliance Director of Publicity, Danjuma Lamido, said that Egbetokun’s instruction to all police departments to hold off on the PSC’s directive until further notice doesn’t mean the IGP opposed the Police Service Commission’s (PSC) order.
“We all know that vacancies will be opened in many places due to the mass retirement, and some of the positions are sensitive to remain vacant, so we want to believe that the IGP might want to do the proper things before the enforcement of the retirement as recommendedby the PSC.
“The document, dated February 5, 2025, specifically instructed the departments to stay the action pending additional guidance from IGP Egbetokun; there is nowhere the IGP opposed the PSC as made believe by the media.
“The public service rules quoted by the PSC are stated quite clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt, Lamido said.
Recall that the PSC’s original order, announced last week, reversed a 2017 policy that allowed force entrants to use their enlistment date rather than the initial appointment date for calculating retirement age. The PSC justified the reversal by citing Public Service Rule No. 020908, which mandates retirement at 60 or after 35 years of service.
“We must also commend the PSC’s spokesman, Mr. Ikechukwu Ani, for saying that the IGP’s comment for further directive does not mean that he rejected the commission’s decision.
“The PSC and the Nigeria police are bound in the interest of the nation’s internal security, and there is no crack between the two institutions. The media shouldn’t create any enmity between the two institutions, Danjuma Lamido concluded.
