A new Commissioner of Police has been posted to the Bayelsa State Police Command, a statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Butswat Asinim, said on Monday.
Asinim identified the new commissioner as Joseph G. Mukan saying he took over from Ebere C. Onyeagoro, who had been redeployed to the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID), Abuja, as CP Special Fraud Unit (SFU).
But the state Governor, Seriake Dickson and the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) expressed reservations over constant changes of police commissioners in the state ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Asinim in his statement said the new commissioner reported on November 2nd, 2018, but took over the command Monday.
H said: “He was the Commissioner of Police Special Fraud Unit, Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Abuja. He is a disciplinarian and a professional police officer, who has served in various commands and formations in various capacities.
“The command, by this announcement, solicits the cooperation and partnership of the good and well meaning people of Bayelsa State to accord the new commissioner of police, the necessary support to discharge his duties of maintaining law and order in the state”.
But Dickson read political meaning into the deployment of Mukan into the state saying the opposition party created an impression that the new commissioner would do their biddings.
The governor while receiving defectors to the PDP recently, said: “Now they just told me that the fourth commissioner of police they posted to Bayelsa had been removed.
“They brought the one they said is their party member to come to police our state that we have secured so that they can use cult boys to create problem and kill people. We will not allow that”.
Also at the weekend, the state PDP Chairman, Cleopas Moses, accused leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of influencing the transfers and deployments of commissioners in the state.
He also decried the politicization of security in the state adding that seven different commissioners of police were sent to Bayelsa in the last two months.
He said their aim was to instill fear in the citizenry and create a false impression that the APC would use security agencies to take over the state in the forthcoming elections.
He, however, expressed optimism that just as it was in 2015, the PDP would mobilize the people’s might against the federal might.
