PSC Drops Naja’atu from the election monitoring, following an objection from APC

Naja’atu Muhammad has been replaced by former Assistant Inspector-General of Police Bawa Lawal by the Police Service Commission to oversee the monitoring of police officers’ behaviour in the North-West during the presidential election.

This came after the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council cried out on Monday, accusing Naja’atu of collusion.

The PSC said on Sunday that Naja’atu, a former director of the APC PCC’s Civil Society Directorate, had been appointed as one of the coordinators to oversee how police officers behave during the upcoming elections.

It had been reported on how the lawmaker, who was born in Kano, had criticized the ruling APC and its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, when she left the party to endorse Atiku Abubakar.

Festus Keyamo, the principal spokesperson for the Tinubu/Shettima PCC, came out against her appointment after it had been made.

The PSC declared in a statement that it had dropped Naja’atu in response to the objection.

The statement read in part, “The attention of the PSC was drawn to a press statement by the APC PCC on the appointment of Naja’atu representing women interest and the North-West in the commission as one of the coordinators for the monitoring of police conduct in the February 25 presidential election which the council accused of partisanship.

“The statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs and chief spokesperson, Tinubu/Shettima PCC, Festus Keyamo, SAN, rejected the appointment of commissioner Naja’atu as coordinator for the exercise.

“The commission wishes to state with all sense of responsibility that its commissioners representing different geopolitical zones have always supervised assignments of the commission in the geopolitical zones they represent. It was the same with the present national assignment.

“The commission has, however, decided to mandate AIG Bawa Lawal (retd.), who is from the same geopolitical zone with commissioner Naja’atu, to take over the coordination of the monitoring of police conduct in the zone.”