Reps task IGP over poor living conditions in barracks

Reps task IGP over poor living conditions in barracks

IGP SolomonBy Umar Muhammad Puma
The House of Representatives yesterday urged the Ministry of Interior and the Inspector General of Police to design modalities with well meaning investors in the bid to renovate existing barracks and build new ones with maintenance guidelines for police officers.
The House also mandated its committee on Police Affairs to monitor the development and report back to the House quarterly for further legislative action.
These resolutions by the House followed a motion entitled “urgent need to renovate police barracks across the country” sponsored by Hon. Hassan Saleh.
He noted that the barracks were built to provided cheaper, safer and comfortable accommodation for members of the Force.
While moving the motion on the floor, the law maker said, “these barracks, which were built many years ago have without continuous renovation, improvements or repair of facilities, dilapidated with open and stinking gutters, broken sewage, damaged roofs, cracked walls amongst others.
 
“Yet men and woman of the Nigerian Police Force who are charged with the nation’s security and maintenance of law and order live in them with their family members”.
Saleh worried that thousands of residents of the barracks live in uneasy calm rather than with peace of mind and comfort necessary for effective discharge of their duties adding that their poor living conditions have impacted negatively on their work.
“There is an urgent need to renovate and build modern barracks and improve the living conditions of the men and women of the force in order to prevent an attitudinal turn off to many comptenet Nigerians who would have wanted to be recruited into the Nigerian Police Force, “he said.
The House adopted the motion after it was put to a voice vote by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yussuff Lasun