We Raised Police Budget to N400bn from 15bn in 2015, Says Minister

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

The outgoing Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi, said at the weekend, that the determination of the federal government to reform the police and engender infrastructural development, provide equipment and modern communication gadjets to the Nigeria Police culminated in the scaling up of police budget from N15 billion in 2015 to N400 billion presently.

He said 95% of the ministerial mandate assigned to the ministry by President Muhammadu Buhari was achieved during his tenure.

He spoke during the handing over ceremony to the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. Abel  Enitan, at the Ministry of Police Affairs, Federal Secretariat, Abuja.

The minister thanked the management for their cooperation and support that enabled the ministry to meet the Key Performance Index (KPI) assigned to the ministry by President Muhammad Buhari.

“Mr president has given us all that we have asked of him. When we just came in the police budget was just about N15 to N16 billion but look at it now, we are talking about N400 billion annually for the police so we have done a lot”, he said.

He commended the staff of the ministry for the support given him during his tenure.

“We would have not achieved what we have done so far in the Ministry without your support. What I have been able to do in this ministry was made possible because of your hard work, commitment, and dedication to duty to actualise the ministerial mandate given to us by Mr  President. You are all aware that we have made about 95% of our ministry mandate”, he said.

He affirmed that the collective support of the management and staff  made it possible to provide efficient service delivery to the police ecosystem noting that the memos the permanent secretary sent to his office were clean, clear, and perfect based on his adherence to rules and regulations.

“I think we would have done very well as the police needed our attention but due to poor budgetary allocation, we could not address some issues”, he said.

Dingyadi thanked President Muhammad Buhari for the special intervention that enable the ministry to provide guidance and environment for the ongoing reforms of the police in the areas of providing equipment, rehabilitation of barracks and stations, improving the welfare through Police Trust Fund and facilitation of executive bill on the legal framework for the police training institutions in the country.

The minister also presented a bus to the staff of the ministry.

During the presentation of the 18-seater Toyota bus to the staff, the Joint Chairman of the unions, Comrade Archibong Okon, thanked the minister for the parting gesture of staff bus to increase the number of buses to three in the pool of the ministry since his assumption of duty.

Earlier, the management of the Ministry led by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abel Enitan appreciated the outgoing minister for his fatherly role and direction he had given to the management and staff in the actualisation of the mandate of the ministry and the experience he brought to the system.

He posited that minister read every memo sent to his office with keen interest and his penchant for efficiency and effective service delivery put the management on their toes to produce quality memos and support to the minister as he provided quality leadership in the ministry.