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ABUJA — PRESIDENT Umar Musa Yar’Adua, yesterday, appointed Mr. Mike Okiro as 13th Inspector-General of Police. Until his appointment, the new IGP was the Deputy Inspector-General in charge of Works.

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The appointment of Okiro was confirmed via a statement signed by Musa Aduwak, Senior Special Assistant, Media to the President. Okiro’s selection as IGP followed a day of drama regarding the refusal of his predecessor, Mr. Sunday Ehindero to hand over to his former number two, DIG Ogbonna Onovo on the grounds that he (Ehindero) was not authorized to do so.

Things dramatically changed when Ehindero was later called from the presidency and directed to go and hand over the instruments of office to Onovo because there cannot be a vacuum in the Police chain of command. But no sooner had Onovo received the instruments of office from Ehindero as acting IG that the President was said to have made his decision based on advice of his security chiefs and kitchen cabinet.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the high-wire lobbying and pressure mounted on President Yar’Adua to announce a Police boss from the North since former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed the IGP that worked with him from the South-West, tilted the appointment in favour of Okiro.

Onovo was said to have lost out in the last minute when powerful forces were said to have argued that giving such a sensitive position of the number one security organization to an Igbo man, could be dangerous.

The new IG who hails from Rivers state, is an alumnus of the Nigerian Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies and was at one time, Lagos State Police Commissioner and DIG Operations before he was made DIG Works, the number three position in the force.

The man, Mike Mbama Okiro

Date of birth: July 24, 1949.

Place of birth: Oguta, Imo state.

Home town: Egbema

LGA of origin: Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni

State of origin: Rivers

Schools attended:

University of Ibadan, BA (English); University of Lagos, MPA (Masters in Public Administration; University of Jos, LLB, LLM (Law); National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Plateau, mni.

Job experience:

NYSC Maiduguri, 1976-1977; Nigeria Police Force Force (1977 to date).

Posts held:

Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Central Police Station, Port Harcourt; Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Obigbo, Rivers state; Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) Aguata, Anambra state; Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Uwani, Enugu state; Chief Superintendent of Police (Admin) (CSP ‘A’), State Headquarters, Enugu state; Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) (CSP ‘A’), Police College, Ikeja; Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Bode Thomas Police Station, Surulere, Lagos; Member, Armed Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Lagos; Area Commander, Area ‘C’ Surulere, Lagos; Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations (ACP ‘OPS’), Lagos state; Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations (DC, Ops), Lagos state; Second in Command, Ogun stater Police Command; Deputy Commandant, Police Staff College, Jos; Commissioner of Police, Benue; Commissioner of Police, Lagos; Deputy Inspector-General of Police ‘B’ Department (Operations), Force Headquarters, Abuja.

Position held before yesterday’s appointment:

Deputy Inspector-General, ‘C’ Department (Works and Logistics), Force Headquarters, Abuja.

Membership of professional bodies:

Member, Nigerian Institute of Management; Member, Nigerian Institute of Personnel Management; Fellow, Chartered Institute of Administrators; Fellow, Institute of Corporate Administrators; Member, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

Honours & Awards:

Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem; Nigeria Police Medal, NPM; Atunluse of Lagos; Agunechemba of Egbema; Ochendo Ndigbo Lagos; Ochiagha of Akpulu, Orlu; Seriki Babatolu of Gbagura, Abeokuta; Bamofin of Ipaja, Lagos; Baba Agbakin of Oniru, Lagos.