The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Solomon Arase, on Tuesday, expressed concern about the lack of interest of citizens from the South-East to join the Nigeria Police Force.
He made the remarks as the ongoing recruitment of general-duty constables into the Nigeria Police Force entered day nine, with Kaduna State leading with 20,259 applicants.
According to the spokesman for the PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, as of Wednesday, Anambra State had only 541 applicants, being the lowest.
Following Kaduna State at the top are Adamawa State with 18,933 applications, Borno State with 18,305, Bauchi State, 16,554, Katsina State, 16,232, and Kano State, 15,888.
Meanwhile, other South-East states have not done much better than Anambra. Ebonyi had 737 applicants; Abia, 966; Imo, 999 and Enugu, 1,036.
Other states with relatively lower applicants are Bayelsa, 1,020; Lagos, 1,259; Delta, 1,338 and Edo 1,526.
A statement on Wednesday by the PSC spokesman quoted Arase as expressing worry about the low applicants from the South-East and calling on the leaders in the region to encourage their youths to show interest.
“Arase noted that the South-East, currently a hotbed of non-state actors rebellion in the country should have been at the forefront to join the Nigeria Police Force and bring indigenous solutions to the menace.
“He called on the leadership of the zone to find a way of convincing its youths to embrace the opportunity the ongoing recruitment has provided.
“The PSC Chairman said it will be difficult for anybody to listen to cries of marginalisation from leaders of the zone if they choose to remain indifferent to the government’s generous decision to offer employment to Nigerian youths into the Police Force. He said they should maximise the remaining five weeks open for their youths to get into the train,” the statement read.
