By: Emmanuel Abi Couson
In its renewed vigour to reposition and strengthen the Police Community Relations Committee, (PCRC), its National Chairman Alhaji Ibraheem Olaniyan has inaugurated its Monitoring and Evaluation Unit.
At the inaugural ceremony which was done virtually , the National Chairman said as the association turns 40 years on May 8, 2024,it had become imperative to inject in monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to keep on track in line with the vision of PCRC founding fathers .
“We have millions of members across Nigeria , so you expect some level of disorder and activities that are not in consonant with what we represent , from some members , so I need to have my eyes and ears on ground and you are my eyes and ears “, he told the Unit members.
Alhaji Ibraheem , who has transformed the PCRC into a global organisation with the formation of the Diaspora PCRC said the association was working in close alliance with the Nigeria Diaspora Commission , to ensure that Nigerians are kept from ugly incidents wherever they find themselves in the world and that the Monitoring Unit will cover the Diaspora PCRC also.
According to Olaniyan , the Unit was not open to all comers and all the members and future members come specially recommended for the special assignment of monitoring and evaluating PCRC activities nationwide to ensure strict adherence to laid down rules.
The national chairman commended the team spirit of all state and zonal chairmen and the high cooperation of the police , especially the Force Public Relations Department , led by ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, for the successes recorded by the PCRC nationwide , noting that there were no more push over PCRC states as was the case hitherto.
In his speech, the national coordinator of the PCRC Monitoring Unit and National Consultant on Special Projects to the National chairman, Amb . Austen Yong , thanked the national chairman for initiating the Unit and commended him for his landmark achievements , which he said were unprecedented in the past 17 years since the PCRC came into being at the national level .
Austen Yong , a former Deputy National Secretary of the PCRC , said members of the Unit will be exposed to different training regimes to equip them for their assignment and ensure organisational core values , the productive reality of the PCRC , and standardized activities and operations across all PCRC formations, and ensure PCRC presence in every community in Nigeria , in line with the vision of the national chairman , Alhaji Ibraheem Olaniyan.
Among the members inaugurated were Dr. Anthony George-Hill, a development expert and Executive Director of the Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group , South South Coordinator , Abdulsalam Baba Ahmed, North East Coordinator, Abubakar Lawan Gashagar, North East Coordinator, Prince Stephen Olufolarin Bankole , South West Coordinator . Others were HRH Godspower Akpenuchi, a patamount ruler , Charles Maria Ezike, Pastor Elias Osoude, Malachy Chukwudi, Tomoniwari Okuru, etc.
Supol Kenneth Ovie, represents the Force PRO, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi in the Unit while Prof. N. D. Nte , a professor of Intelligence and Security Studies , Novena University and Visiting professor at the Nigeria Defense Academy, Kaduna, was named Content Consultant of the Unit.
The Police Community Relations Committee was established on May 8, 1984, by the late IGP Etim Inyang , GCON,NPM,KJW- 1983-1986, to promote police community collaboration , in order to address community safety and security concerns .
The PCRC will be marking it’s 40th anniversary next year and according to the national chairman , the Monitoring Unit will join other national units in ensuring the success of the anniversary .
