Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Solomon Arase, says Nigeria needs adequate police officers with “mental mobility and fertile minds” to effectively engage with the public.
This was contained in a statement made available to journalists by the PSC Chief of Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to the statement, Arase spoke during a courtesy visit to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar, Is-haq Oloyede.
Arase said the focus of discussion during the visit was the process of engaging JAMB to conduct computer-based testing for applicants seeking employment in the Nigerian Police Constables cadre.
He said the police force he joined 42 years ago was knowledge-based and had officers who could relate to the public and generate love and trust.
The PSC boss said there was a need for a paradigm shift in the recruitment of Nigerian youths into the police.
“If the commission could get 50 per cent outstanding people with this recruitment, progress towards a better and more effective police service would have begun.
“Mentally mobile police officers will be self-confident and capable of performing their duties in a credible manner,” Arase said.
According to him, in future, JAMB computer tests will be conducted first before selection exercises to weed out those with questionable certificates.
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In his remark, the JAMB Registrar commended Mr. Arase for the visit and pledged to support the commission in its project to change the narrative of the Nigerian Police Force forever.
He urged the PSC chief to take note of the peculiarities of the country’s diverse population and get the best for each state and zone in the recruitment process. (YAYA)
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