Civil servants, others frustrate Okiro’s parting promotion gift to Police Officers

Career civil servants have frustrated the move by the former Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Sir Mike Mbam Okiro, to gift some senior police officers with promotion, The Eagle Online has learnt.
The interview for the promotion, especially from the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police to Commissioner of Police, was conducted at the headquarters of the PSC in Abuja on Thursday and Friday last week, The Eagle Online recalls.
According to highly placed sources, since the conclusion of the interview on Friday and Tuesday when Okiro vacated office, the civil servants were yet to sign the papers for the promotion, which should have gone to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, for implementation.
The Eagle Online was told that among those expected to sign the documents for the promotion to become effective is the Permanent Secretary of the PSC, who is the Secretary of the Promotion Board; Directors; and other appointees.
But none of them endorsed it.
A source told The Eagle Online: “Since Okiro cannot unilaterally sign the promotion documents, others who are supposed to sign it have frustrated the exercise.
“At least until yesterday (Tuesday) when he left office, nothing was done about it.
“And our expectation is that the new Chairman, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, will resume on Wednesday (today) and he will be briefed on why the promotions should not be effected.”
Sources told The Eagle Online that among those interviewed, between 102 and 130 were shortlisted for promotion.
Most of them were recommended for “Special promotion”.
The source added: “They did not meet any of the conditions for promotion, including the special itself.
“The was no Annual Performance Evaluation Report, no recognisable achievement to back up the recommendations.
“It was a Bazaar.
“See DCS of all shades running to the commission to meet up with the auction.
“For the APER, you will need at least three to qualify for promotion.
“None had it.
“So what will be the basis for the endorsement of such recommendations by civil servants who know the rules?”