Musiliu Smith resigns as PSC chairman

A former Inspector General of Police, Musiliu Smith, has resigned from the chair of the Police Service Commission (PSC).

Reports said that this was a consequence of an intractable disagreement between the PSC and the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF.

A report by TheNiche quoted the Head of Press and Public Relations of the PSC, Mr Ikechukwu Ani to have confirmed Musiliu’s resignation.

Whereas, he claimed that the resignation was on health grounds, there were unconfirmed reports that implicated the frosty relationship between the leaderships of the PSC and the NPF for the resignation.

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Musiliu, according to feelers, may hand over to Retired Justice Clara Ogunbiyi representing the judiciary in the Commission.

Besides, President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly accepted Musiliu’s resignation.

A grapevine said Smith was pushed out because the Board of the Commission asked him to resign and he accepted.

The commission and the office of the Inspector-General of Police had been at loggerheads over which body has the right to conduct the recruitment into the Force.

The PSC had advertised recruitment for constables and urged interested applicants to visit its website to apply.

But the police in a statement urged members of the public to ignore the notice, insisting that the recruitment process was the sole responsibility of the Force.

Ani was quoted to gave said: “Yes he resigned on his own on medical grounds and the President has accepted his resignation.’’

Ani said that the Commission had yet to issue an official statement on Musiliu Smith’s resignation.

Smith, whose tenure is scheduled to end in July 2023, served the Commission for over four years.

He was appointed as IGP in May 1999 and retired in March 2002 following a police strike.

Ani said an official statement on his resignation would released on Thursday.