BY TheCable
President Gooodluck Jonathan has appointed Mr. Suleiman Abba, an assistant inspector-general of police in charge of Zone 7, as the acting inspector-general of police, subject to confirmation.
The appointment of Abba had been widely anticipated, following a leak of the recommendation by the Police Service Commission.
He takes over from Mr. Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar who retired on July 30.
TheCable learnt that President Jonathan did not find it difficult appointing Abba because of the good recommendation he got.
“He was picked because he is a proven operations man who can galvanise the police to combat crime efficiently,” a senior presidency official told TheCable a day before the announcement was made.
According to the official, Abba is also seen as a man of integrity – a rare virtue in the police force.
“In 2011, he was briefly posted to Lagos State during the general election. He did not go to meet the governor or Bola Tinubu as is the custom of some. Rather, he focused on his job. It was on the day he was leaving the post that he paid a courtesy call on the political figures to sign off,” the official said.
Tinubu was reportedly jittery when Abba did not pay him a visit, allegedly interpreting it as a sign that Abba had come with a pre-conceived agenda on the polls in Lagos State.
But Tinubu was said to have expressed satisfaction with the man’s performance, congratulating him for his integrity as Mr. Babatunde Fashola was easily re-elected governor of the state.
Abba, an alumnus of the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Kuru, was also Rivers state commissioner of police.
He previously held the positions of deputy force secretary, deputy commissioner of police, and assistant commissioner of police in charge of state CID, FCT Police Command.
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