BREAKING: Buhari swears in ex-IGP Solomon Arase as PSC chairman

Dr. Solomon Arase, a former Inspector General of Police, was sworn in as the new chairman of the Service Commission by President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.) on Wednesday morning (retd.).

At 10:05 a.m., Arase took the oath of office in front of Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SGF Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staff to the President Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, and other FEC members in the council room of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

This comes two months after the Senate approved him to serve as PSC chairman.

According to reports, on January 24, 2023, Buhari sent Arase's name to the Senate, requesting that it confirm him in accordance with sections 153 (1) and 154 (1) of the amended constitution.

Between April 2015 and June 2016, 65-year-old Arase served as the 18th indigenous Inspector-General of Police. He has held a number of positions, including that of head of the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, the top intelligence-gathering division of the Nigerian police. Arase retired in 2016.

Five members of the Code of Conduct Bureau's board were also sworn in by the president.

These include Professor Juwaria Badamasi of Kogi State, Murtala Kankia of Katsina State (North-West), Zephaniah Bulus of Nasarawa State (North Central), Farouk Umar of Yobe State (North East), Taofeek Abdulsalam of Ondo State (South West), and (North Central). 

Members of the council also observed a moment of silence in memory of Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, who passed away on March 26, 2023, on Sunday.

Under the Abacha dictatorship, Diya held the positions of Vice Chairman of the Interim Governing Council and Chief of General Staff.

Diya, who was born in Odogbolu, Ogun State, on April 3, 1944, enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna and participated in the Nigerian Civil War.

He was appointed Vice Chairman of the Interim Ruling Council in 1994 and Chief of General Staff in 1993.