Peller loses NSCDC security aides after bill proposal, gets them back hours later

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has withdrawn and reinstated its personnel attached to federal lawmaker, Shina Peller, all within a day.

This drama ensued after Peller, who represents lseyin/ltesiwaju/ Kajola/lwajowa Federal Constituency in Oyo State, proposed a bill to have the NSCDC scrapped and absorbed by the Nigeria Police force.

The lawmaker proposed the bill to the House via the National Security And Civil Defence Corps (Repeal and Transition) Bill 2022, which passed the first reading on Tuesday.

In the bill, the Honourable noted that “fragmentation of security resources across multiple competing agencies is counterproductive”

Peller stated, “Every single function of the NSCDC can be done or is being done by the Nigeria Police Force,” stressing that the annual budget of the NSCDC is almost N100 billion.

“The assets and personnel of the NSCDC will be absorbed by the Nigeria Police. So, no loss of jobs,” he noted.

However, the NSCDC Head of Administration, Oyo State Command, Sotito Igbalawole, had addressed a letter dated February 2, 2022 to the lawmaker, claiming that the corps’ personnel attached to Peller had to be withdrawn due to an “urgent national need”.

The letter with reference number, NSCDC/OY/173/VOL.III/196, titled, ‘withdrawal of personnel,’ read, “Following the directive of the Commandant General on the necessity of the deployment of the command personnel for an urgent national security assignment; on behalf of the state commandant, I hereby withdraw all personnel attached to you.

“This is to meet up with the urgent national need. All inconvenience this might cause is highly regretted”.

The NSCDC spokesman, Shola Odumosu, however, disowned the letter to the lawmaker, saying, “the letter is strange to us,” and he was not aware of it.

On the same day, the Commandant General of the corps, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, ordered the reinstatement of all personnel attached to Peller in a statement on Wednesday.

The directive was disclosed in a statement titled, ‘CG frowns at withdrawal of officials assigned to Member of the House of Representatives, orders reinstatement’.

Signed by the NSCDC’s spokesperson, Odumosu Olusola, the statement read, “The leadership of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has dismissed as unauthorized and without recourse to the Corps constituted authority, a letter signed and sent to a Member of the House of Representatives, Hon Shima Peller, informing him of the withdrawal of officials of the NSCDC assigned to him.

“Not only did the officer in question lacked the power to do such, he was also found to have acted on his whims without clearance.

“The Commandant General, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, mni, has therefore directed a reinstatement of the withdrawn officers with a compliment of necessary courtesies to the Honourable Member”.