The Nation Newspaper

Tag: unauthorised

  • 150, 000 policemen attached to VIPs, unauthorised persons

    The Police Service Commission (PSC) says more than 150,000 policemen were attached to VIPs and unauthourised persons.

    The police have about 375,000 men and women in service.

    The commission’s chairman, Mr. Mike Okiro, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015, directed that police personnel attached to unauthorised persons and VIPs be withdrawn and deployed to confront security challenges.

    “We cannot afford to have more than half of the population of the Police in private hands,” he said.

    He said the commission, in conjunction with the Police, had commenced the implementation of the withdrawal of policemen but the exercise was stalled due to lack of fund.

    “We could not sustain the enforcement of the order on the withdrawal of policemen attached to unqualified persons in the country because of lack of fund.

    He expressed disappointment at the practice, where persons who served as ministers for over 10 to 15 years still go about with police security.

    Okiro said the nation cannot be battling with shortage of manpower in the force while majority of these officers would be in the service of few privileged Nigerians.

    He explained that issue of paucity of fund had been one of the problems hindering the recruitment of more policemen for enhanced service delivery.

    The commission chairman said the Police Trust Fund bill before the National Assembly, if passed into law, would go a long way to address the issue of funding for the police.

  • APC bars members from making unauthorised press statements

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday directed all its members to desist from issuing  press statements on behalf of the party  henceforth.

    National Chairman of the APC,Chief John Odigie-Oyegun said in a statement personally signed by him that “unauthorized persons have recently been issuing statements on behalf of the party.”

    This,according to him, “is totally wrong and unacceptable as only the National Chairman

    and the National Publicity Secretary can speak for the party on national issues.”

    He said: “therefore, any member of the National Working Committee (NWC) or the

    party generally who wishes to speak on behalf of the party should expressly clear such statement with the National Chairman of our great party.

    “Also, State Publicity Secretaries of our party should restrict their statements to issues concerning their various states.”

  • NAFDAC, police to check hawking of unauthorised herbal medicine

    You see them in their buses and all that; as if to say: ok the masters have gone in, lets us come and have our field’s day.

    The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it will collaborate with the police to check hawking of unauthorised herbal medicine.

    The Coordinator of the agency in Anambra, Dr Christiana Esenwah, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Onitsha, Anambra, on Monday.

    She said that the activities of the hawkers constituted noise pollution to the residents of the state and embarrassment to the agency.

    Esenwah said that the hawkers had remained undaunted even after many of them were arrested, sanctioned and fined by the agency.

    She also said that the recent upward review of the administrative charges and tariffs for operating herbal medicine outlets had not deterred them.

    “We have observed that most of their activities have been reduced to after-hours (after office hours), that is after 4 o’clock (p.m.), that is when you see them really on the move.

    “They know that between the hours 8 and 4, we are active; so by the time we are closing at about 5 or 6, you see them coming out in (their) numbers.

    “Even in my home, when you come out; unfortunately I can’t work when I have closed; when I am resting in my home that is when you hear the loudest noise.

    “You see them in their buses and all that; as if to say: ok the masters have gone in, lets us come and have our field’s day.

    “It is so annoying; and we feel we need to get security agents; we need to go a step further, there are people who operate shifts; I mean the security agents who operate shifts.

    “I think we can work in collaboration with them; since these people have seen that once we close from work, it is time for them to operate; we too should go a step further to see that we can get these people.’’

    Esenwah stated that the agency would increase its monitoring of the state, by expanding the scope of NAFDAC Consumer Safety Clubs (NCSC) in secondary schools from 42 to 52 before the end of the year.

    According to her, the establishment of the clubs in schools is to create awareness and to educate the students on the dangers of using counterfeit drugs at an early age.