Kogi PDP Campaign Council Passes Vote of No Confidence on State Commissioner of Police

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council in Kogi State has passed a vote of no confidence on the state Commissioner of Police, Busari Hakeem, and called for his removal ahead of the November 16, 2019 governorship election.

Deputy Director of Public Communication of the council, Austin Okai Usman, said the PDP was concerned about the activities of the state police command under Hakeem’s leadership.

Usman alleged that the conduct of the police had created the impression that the forthcoming governorship contest was becoming a confrontation between the security agency and the PDP.

According to him, senior government officials and prominent members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were allegedly receiving police protection while PDP members were being harassed, intimidated and threatened across the state.

The campaign council did not provide independent evidence to substantiate the allegations.

Usman said the PDP believed the police command under the commissioner could not demonstrate the level of impartiality required to oversee security during the governorship election.

The party therefore appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to redeploy or remove the commissioner before the election, arguing that such a step would help promote confidence in the security arrangements and prevent a possible breakdown of law and order.

The PDP campaign council also expressed concern over what it described as the continued detention of DCP Ejeh Suleiman Abutu following his arrest from his residence.

It urged the police leadership to ensure that security agencies remained neutral and treated members of all political parties fairly.

The council further alleged that there were plans by the Kogi State Government to involve other security personnel in efforts aimed at helping the ruling party retain power in the election.

Again, no independent evidence was presented to support the allegation.

The PDP consequently called on Major General Adewale Ogunkale to closely monitor personnel under his command and ensure they were not drawn into partisan political activities.

The campaign council maintained that neutrality by security agencies was essential to guaranteeing a peaceful, credible and fair governorship election in Kogi State.