Steve Onii, Ilorin
Plans to relocate Nigeria Police Public Relations college from Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, to Keffi has been uncovered
An underground plan to relocate the Nigeria Police Public Relations School, located at Kulende in Ilorin the Kwara state capital has been uncovered.
Construction work on the multimillion Naira project which was flagged off by the immediate past Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris through the AIG (Works), Olalekan Oladipupo had since begun after the contractor for the project had been mobilised.
It’s been rumoured that the new hierarchy of the police under the leadership of the Police, Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu is planning to relocate the project to Keffi in Nasarawa State, his home country.
This development has generated a lot of controversy in the Ilorin community as the people are wondering that how can a project of such magnitude that went through all due processes could overnight be relocated from its original site to another state despite the level of work already carried out on the site.
Investigations also revealed that the project was originally approved by the Presidency and the National Assembly and captured in the 2018 budget of the police.
In all the memos, Ilorin was the community which was approved where the project should be cited with the name Nigeria Police Public Relations School, Kulende, Ilorin.
A visit to the site of the project showed that work has stopped despite the fact that the contractor has been mobilised while it was reliably gathered that directive to stop the project was from the police headquarters in Abuja.
It would be recalled that in mid 2017 the former IGP Ibrahim Idris approved a Committe of Professionals, Senior Police Officers and FPRO then (Ag DCP Jimoh Moshood) to set up the establishment of Nigeria Police Public Relations School for the Nigeria Police Force.
The then IGP and the management team in July, 2017 approved a memo from the FPRO for CP Emmanuel Ojukwu (RTD) to be the provost of the school and that the Permanent Site for Nigeria Police Public Relations School be located within Police land in Kunlende,Ilorin,Kwara State and other processes for the Construction of the School
The committee met several times with NIPR (Nigeria Institute of Public Relations) and the school was flagged off by the immediate past IGP Ibrahim and management team at its temporary site at Police Account and Budget Building opposite Force Headquarters on 10th August, 2017
The Nigeria Police Public Relations School, Kunlende, Ilorin was included in the National Appropriation Budget of 2018 submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly in 2017. It was passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by the President Muhamadu Buhari In 2018.
It is equally reliably gathered that the project is in the 2018 and 2019 budgets and have been processed to be rolled over to the 2020 and 2021 estimates. In 2018, bid was opened by the Nigeria Police Force and contract for project was awarded and payment made to the Cöntractor
On the 11th January, 2019 a ground breaking and foundation laying ceremony of the Nigeria Police Public Relations School, Kunlende, Ilorin was performed by the then police boss (represented by AIG Works, AIG Olalekan A.F Oladipupo and the Emir of Ilorin (represented by Balogun Agba of Ilorin who is the Balogun Gambari of Ilorin)
In attendance at the occasion were the then Commissioner of Police, Kwara State, CP Bashir Makama, Provost of the School, CP Emmanuel Ojukwu (RTD) who delivered a key note address, the National President and Exco of IEDPU, AIG Ojibara (RTD), AIG Baba A.Bolanta, Alh Aliyu Oba Ajikobi, Prof Hassan Salihu and many retired senior police officers from Kwara State.
The contractor continued the project to appreciable level until some mischievous persons asked the contractor to stop work and started conspiring to relocate the school to Keffi, Nasarawa State
There is no justification for this ill motived action as most of security agencies have the public relations school far away from ABUJA, Capital of Nigeria. For instance Nigeria Army School of Public Relations is Located in Lagos.
The location of Police Public Relations School in Ilorin made it central and accessible to all parts of the Country. Ilorin is a State Capital and with an International Airport and other advantages of Two(2) Universities, National Institute of Labour Studies, etc that are of great intellectual benefits to Nigeria Police Public Relations School.
The concerned Citizens of ilorin and Kwara state also called for the intervention of the President,Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Minister of Finance,Budget and National Planing and Bureau of Public Procurement to intervene in the matter stressing that Natiönal Budget is a law that must not be violated.
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