Governor Alex Otti,his officials and members of the PSC Delegdt
Henceforth, Abia will fill its Police Recruitment Quota, Otti vows
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, says the era of the state not filling its quota in Police recruitment is over.
The Governor assured that his administration would end the inability of the state to fill its allocated quota during Police Recruitment by working with the Police to mobilize Abia youths interested in joining the Force, saying that the strategy worked in Army recruitment in the state.
However, the Governor also advised the Police to change its strategy in communicating and mobilizing Abians for Police enrolment to ensure that Abians fill the quota allocated to the State
Governor Otti spoke when he received in audience, a delegation from the Police Service Commission (PSC) in-charge of Police Recruitment in the State led by Mrs. Uche Wokocha, a Deputy Director of Procurement in the Commission, promising to wage war against drug abuse which cause some enrollees from Abia to fail medical test.
The team came to the State to conduct medicals in continuation of the ongoing Police recruitment exercise which started last year of which some have already passed out from the Police Academy.
While responding to some of the concerns raised by the PSC delegation regarding why Abians do not fill up the quota allocated to the State during Police recruitment exercises, which include lack of interest, failing medical tests as a result of substance abuse, among others, the Governor said that the lack of interest in the Police Force was historical, noting that before now, the people feel that those forces were not meant for them.
“We need to think outside the box on how we communicate our people that the Police Force is a force belonging to the whole Nigeria and we need to enroll. We did that with the military and it worked last year. I don’t know when next you are recruiting.
“We need to do what we did exactly with the military. We went on campaigns. Sometimes people don’t even know, no matter how much you advertised it, they may not know. Communicating with some of them is very difficult except they listen to the radio. So, if you are not on radio, they won’t hear the announcements.
“We used different strategies, different media platforms to let them know. So, next time you are starting the recruitment, let us know and we will join the campaign,” Governor Otti assured
The Governor described the issue of drug abuse as unfortunate. “On the issue of drugs, it is very unfortunate. We keep doing our best in fighting the dangerous menace,” he said.
He frowned at what he described as the “democratization of drugs,” that is when the drugs are rampant. He said that it was not so in the past when you will have to spend a lot of money to get the drugs because they were scarce and the dealers sold them secretly.
“They have even discovered that pain killers can be drugs; like codeine and others. Codeine used to be for pain but today, they take it in excess and they become high.
“It’s a major war that we are fighting. We are working very closely with NDLEA, Homeland Security and other security agencies because you cannot divorce drug from crime. They are linked together; there is no way you fight crime without fighting drugs,” Governor Otti explained.
He assured the PSC delegation that the State Government would continue to work with them until they get the result they want, just like government too.
Earlier in her address to the Governor, the leader of the delegation, Mrs. Uche Wokocha, commended Governor Otti for supporting and ensuring that Abia Children in Police Academy were well taken care of, saying that he was the first Governor from the State to do so.
Mrs. Wokocha also commended the Governor for providing a place for Abians desiring to join the Force to document their details and called for government support in mobilizing Abians for Police enrolment.
She expressed hope that since the federal government has approved the establishment of a Police College in neighbouring Akwa Ibom State, more Abians scared of going far would be encouraged to join the Police.
In his vote of thanks, DCP Ike Nwosu thanked Governor Otti for making Abians to be proud to say that they were Abians, saying that the state has become a reference point for good governance across Nigeria.
