I Did My Best During My Tenure - Former IGP Suleiman Abba

The former inspector general of police, IGP Suleiman Abba, has said that he did his very best and delivered a credible and peaceful election to the country during the 2015 general elections.

Abba was sacked on Tuesday in a statement by the presidential spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati who said the sack was with immediate effect. He was replaced by former deputy inspector general of police in charge of Force Intelligence in acting capacity, Ag IGP Solomon Arase.

Abba made the remark yesterday during the official handing over and taking over ceremony between him and Arase, where he said that the society usually finds it difficult to understand the actions of the police.

He said, “I want to thank the Almighty God, for seeing me into the office of IGP; like He said, He gives and He takes and He is also seeing me out as the IGP, particularly, when it is in good health and with the ovation I’m getting from my colleagues.

“I want to thank the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for that appointment and for also seeing me out at this time because I believe God knows the best. And I want to say that I want to move on with my life believing that life has steps and it is a journey.”

“To my colleagues, I know you have seen it all. We started at a time that was very difficult in Nigerian history, a time when politics had picked up. We were getting ready for the elections and our whole attention, I would say, was on the elections, even though we kept on doing our best in managing our day to day activities”.

“My happiness is that we have gone through it; the elections are almost over. I want to seize this opportunity to thank everyone, all stakeholders with regards to the 2015 elections for making it not only a reality, but also making it credible.”

“I’m happy we had a credible and peaceful conduct in the 2015 general elections. And I want to urge you to put in more efforts because it is not over yet; the elections are not concluded in at least three states”.

In his speech, Ag IGP Arase identified two national assignments which he said would test the professional expertise and commitment of the police and also subject them to national and international scrutiny, including the conduct of the governorship elections in areas where the elections were declared inconclusive and the delivery of hitch-free presidential, governorship and Assembly inauguration ceremonies.

He said there would be massive deployment of personnel to prevent social disorder and the police will decisively deal with troublemakers. (Leadership)