 |
| President Muhammadu Buhari |
Cleen Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has advised the Federal Government to appoint a citizen with integrity to head the Police Trust Fund (PTF) as the Executive Secretary.
Mr Benson Olugbuo, Cleenโs Executive Director, who gave the advice on Monday in a statement in Abuja, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to constitute the Board of Trustees of PTF in line with the powers and functions enshrined in the PTF Act.
This, he said, would prevent conflict in the powers of the Executive Secretary, the Minister of Police Affairs, Inspector General of Police and the Chairman of the Police Service Commission.
He urged the Board of Trustees when constituted, to ensure accountability and transparency in the operations of the trust fund.
โThe Board of Trustees should ensure that the disbursement of funds is based on needs assessment duly prepared by the Nigeria Police in a transparent and accountable manner.
โThey should also tackle the issues of lack of comprehensive needs assessment data by the Nigeria Police to enhance budgeting, planning and the overall development of police personnel,โโ he said.
Olugbuo said that the issues of absence of an oversight body and a mechanism in the PTFโs Act for checks and balances should also be addressed by the board.
He said that addressing the issues would reduce the vulnerability of the trust fund from corruption, embezzlement, fraud, nepotism, mis-allocation and diversion of resources that erode public good, efficiency and legitimacy.
According to him, the government has long underfunded the Nigeria Police and the funds appropriated for it are quite different from actual funds released.
โAll relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) should be directed to release all levies and monies due to the fund and should also comply with the act.
โThe budgetary provisions for the management of the fund should commence through the 2019 supplementary budget by the National Assembly,โโ he said.
Olugbuo urged the Ministry of Justice to correct typographical errors in the PTF Act before publishing the law in the official gazette of the Federal Government.
โThe PTF Act can be subjected to holistic amendment or reviews in the future to address gaps that have been identified or that may emerge from implementation,โโ he said.
