Former Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Solomon Arase, was sworn in as the next chairman of the Service Commission (PSC) by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Arase took his oath of office on Wednesday at 10:05 at the council room of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, in the presence of President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SGF Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, and other FEC members.
This occurs two months after the Senate’s confirmation of him as PSC chairman.
Recall that on January 24, 2023, Buhari forwarded Arase’s name to the Senate, requesting confirmation in accordance with sections 153 (1) and 154 (1) of the new constitution.
Arase, 65, who retired in 2016, was the 18th indigenous Inspector-General of Police (from April 2015 to June 2016) and served in many capacities, notably as chief of the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, the Nigerian police’s premier intelligence-gathering branch.
The President also swore in five Code of Conduct Bureau board members.
Murtala Kankia of Katsina State (North-West), Zephaniah Bulus of Nasarawa State (North Central), and Farouk Umar of Yobe State (North East), Taofeek Abdullahi of Ondo State (South West), and Prof. Juwaria Badamasi of Kogi State are among them (North Central).
Members of the Council also observed a moment of silence in memory of Lieutenant General Oladipo Diya, who passed away on Sunday, March 26, 2023.
Under the Abacha administration, Diya served as Chief of General Staff and Vice Chairman of the Interim Ruling Council.
Born in Odogbolu, Ogun State, on April 3, 1944, Diya enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna and served in the Nigerian Civil War.
In 1993, he was named Chief of General Staff, and in 1994, he was chosen Vice Chairman of the Interim Ruling Council.
As Chief of the General Staff from 1994 to 1997, he was the second-in-command and de facto vice president of Nigeria under General Sani Abacha.
This week’s Federal Executive Council meeting began around 10:30 a.m. under Buhari’s leadership.