FG unveils new deal for N-power beneficiaries and NYSC members (Details)

The Federal Government has unveiled plans to boost the manpower of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) by drafting in some N-Power beneficiaries and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.

The corps members and N-Power cadets are to make up for the inadequacy of the ongoing recruitment of 10,000 additional hands by the police.

Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this in Abuja last Friday after he held a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa.

Fayemi stated that the issue is top of the agenda of the meeting of the Security Sub-Committee of the National Economic Council (NEC) headed by him earlier last week.

He said the governors, in particular, felt that the 10,000 men being recruited by the police would be inadequate in addressing the country’s current security challenges, hence the urgency to seek other options.

He explained, “This was a meeting that had in its membership the governors from the six zones, the Inspector-General of Police, Chief of Defence Staff and the National Security Adviser.

“It was the outcome of the last NEC meeting, which focused exclusively on security. That committee has just met a couple of days ago and I was asked to brief both the Vice-President, who chairs the NEC and to brief the President as well on the aspect of the work of the sub-committee of NEC that will require the Commander-in-Chief’s support.

“Namely, the organisation of the community policing arrangement that the IGP has announced publicly as his own way of an effective response to security challenges across the board.

“The coordination between governors and security chiefs within the six zones and then recruitment into the law enforcement agencies. As you may be aware, certain recruitments are going on now particularly with regards to the police. But, we feel in our humble opinion that 10,000 men and women are not enough to add to the police in tackling the dearth of security agents in the country.

“That we will have to figure out a way to increase that number either out of the N-Power cadets, who are coming to the end of their service year, having spent two years, or youth service corps members or any of the other institution that will enable us to boost the manpower of the Nigeria Police Force.”

The N-Power programme is one of the Social Investment Programmes of the Nigerian Government. The scheme currently engages no fewer than 500,000 youth graduates deployed to provide public health services in teaching, health, agriculture and tax and monitoring.

It also engages another 200,000 non-graduates in training or on attachment to organisations as interns.