Features
Hashimu Argungu, PSC boss: A problem solver, not a problem creator
By Sunny Igboanugo
On Thursday, June 20, 2024, President Bola Tinubu announced Hashimu Argungu as the new Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC). He is the sixth in the present dispensation, as the Chairman of the body, which history dates back to the 1957 Constitutional Conference, otherwise known as the Willinck Minorities Report, with the main objective of achieving ethnic balance in the structure and characterisation of the Nigerian Police.
Since returning to civilian rule in 1999, Nigeria has seen five other PSC Chairmen – Simon Okeke, appointed by Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2001, Parry Osayande, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), appointed in 2010 by Goodluck Jonathan, then President, Mike Okiro, Musilu Smith, and Solomon Arase, who all retired as Inspectors General of Police (IGPs). While Okiro was also appointed by Jonathan, Smith and Arase, were both appointed by Muhammadu Buhari in 2018 and 2023 respectively.
Argungu, is therefore the first PSC boss appointed by Tinubu. Whatever prompted the President to name the retired super cop as his choice to manage this strategic body, created for the recruitment of police personnel and more specifically, the reward and punishment of senior police officers in Nigeria from the ranks of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), and above, the result has shown that it is a good pick.
Indications have shown that the PSC boss is proving by the day that he did not only pass through the police institution in his 32-year service, but the institution also passed through him, as his words, actions and deeds showcase him as not only having a hands-on understanding of his environment, but possesses the magic lamp, from which he could spring the genie that solves very knotty problems, even those that have defied his predecessors.
Picture this! Since 2018, when Buhari, then President, gave his nod for the recruitment of 60,000 constables into the police force – 10,000 each year for six years, only 10,000 are said to have gone through the process successfully. The rest exercises have been mired in one controversy or the other, as a result of the infighting between the two super powers in the police structure in the country.
Take the latest effort as a test-case. For about six years now, the thorny issue of the recruitment of these junior police personnel, had seen Argungu’s predecessors and past IGPs, on a war-path over the modalities for conducting the exercise.
Recently, precisely on June 15, 2024, authorities of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), shot down another effort in this regard when it roundly rejected a recruitment exercise embarked upon by the PSC, after a Supreme Court judgement, which clearly stated that it was within the purview of the commission to recruit personnel for the force.
In a statement announcing the decision, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and spokesman of the force, said: “This became necessary upon being inundated with a series of complaints and allegations of corruption raised by unsuspecting candidates and stakeholders on the irregularities that marred the exercise most especially the disappearance of the names of screened candidates who were successful to the last stage.
“Upon careful scrutiny of the list released on the Police Service Commission portal, it was discovered that several names of persons purported to be names of successful candidates are those who did not even apply and therefore did not take part in the recruitment exercise.
“The published list contains several names of candidates who failed either the Computer Based Test (CBT) or the physical screening exercise or both. There are those who made it to the last stage of the exercise but were disqualified, having been found medically unfit through the standardised medical test but who also made the list of successful candidates as published by the PSC. Most worrisome is the allegation of financial dealings and corrupt practices leading to the outcome where unqualified and untrainable individuals have been shortlisted.”
But in a prompt pushback, the PSC accused the police of flagrant abuse of ethics, the Constitution and valid judgment of the apex court of the land, demanding clear and verifiable evidence of the claim of fraud in the exercise, while indicating that there was no going back on its decision regarding the existing list.
Ikechukwu Ani, its spokesman, while conveying the commission’s position, regretted, in a statement on June 21, 2024 that since 2019, when a former Inspector General of Police hijacked the soft copy of an ongoing recruitment exercise and forcefully completed the exercise without the input of the Commission – the statutory body solely charged with such responsibility, the Commission has not been allowed to perform this constitutional duty.
“The Commission has at every turn suffered several indignities in its attempt to perform functions provided to it by the Constitution even after the Supreme Court decided the matter in its favour. This show of brute force and intimidation by the Police and most recently inducements of hired writers to run down the Commission in the Media is a serious affront on the mandate of the Commission,” the statement, said.
Dismissing the allegation and accusing the NPF of reluctance to abide by the decisions of the apex court, he added: “The Commission demands that the Police should provide verifiable evidence to prove the allegations peddled against it as it is obvious that it is a case of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it. It is important to state that due process was meticulously followed throughout the exercise and the Commission wishes to assert its prerogative to exercise full control over recruitments into the Nigeria Police Force.”
According to him, even when the verdict of the court gave no role to the police over the matter, the PSC “in its wisdom, invited relevant stakeholders into a Board for the recruitment exercise to ensure inclusiveness and transparency. This magnanimity has since been misconstrued. It is relevant to state that the judgment and even the Constitution did not give the Police any role in the recruitment of any cadre of Officers into the Police Force.”
He added: “It is unfortunate that the Police has attributed its obvious failure to protect lives and properties, and safeguard our nation from banditry and terrorism to bad recruitment. This claim is self-indicting and provocative. Since 2019 when the Police forcefully snatched the exercise from the Commission, they have gone ahead against the provisions of the law to Superintendent over the 2020 and 2021 exercises. It is the fraudulent Recruits they brought into the system during these exercises that are currently haunting the Nigeria Police Force.”
However, like the gentle breeze after a tempest, tempers seem to have been cooled and the storm appears to be over, as the NPF has since decided to let go of the fight and both parties, have now decided to be on the same page, after a meeting of the IGP team and that of the PSC boss with Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Gaidam.
On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, Adejobi was again on song, when he broke the good news that the police had accepted the list citing an agreement between the Kayode Egbetokun, who replaced Arase, who was removed few days after the imbroglio and Argungu. Adejobi’s statement on the truce between the IGP and the PSC boss, both of them lawyers, thus confirmed the statement of the PSC through Ani a day earlier that training for the new recruits would commence on August 10.
The police spokesman, said: “The Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission have finally reached an agreement regarding the final merit list for the recruitment of police constables into the Nigeria Police Force. Following extensive deliberations and collaboration, both the NPF and the PSC have worked diligently to ensure that the recruitment process remains transparent, fair, and merit-based.
“The Inspector General of Police expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that the agreement on the final merit list is a testament to the commitment of both the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission to work together in the best interest of the country.”
What is the implication of this? The import could be gleaned from the words of Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, on Thursday, July 12, 2024, when he bemoaned the damage the feud had caused to the nation, during the appearance of Argungu at the Red Chambers for confirmation of his appointment.
Hear him: “In the last two years, we probably would have had an additional 20,000 Nigerians into the Nigerian Police Force, but unfortunately, as a result of personality clashes, the issues went as far as the Supreme Court. Whether withdrawn or not withdrawn, this Police Service Commission we have just cleared today, and the office of the Inspector-General of Police should be cautioned to take the interest of Nigerians into consideration and the security of this nation uppermost and not their interest and work harmoniously toward the realisation of Mr President’s vision that Nigerians should be allowed to sleep with their eyes closed.”
With the latest development, it appears that the words of the Senate President have struck the right chord. In that respect, much accolades must be given to Argungu. Armed with a masters degree in law and an alumnus of the prestigious Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), the former DIG in charge of the Legal Department of the Nigerian Police Headquarters, Louis Edet House, Abuja, who is also equipped with a 32-year-core competency experience in policing, seems fully prepared. Is this therefore the beginning of a new thing in the PSC?
For as Akpabo, observed, much is dependent on the smooth relationship between the police and the commission in terms of giving Nigerians the environment they need to sleep with two eyes closed? Does Argungu succeeding where his predecessors failed indicate a step towards this path? The nation waits!
Seyi Adewunmi, President of the Lagos Country Club (LCC), launched into his third term in office on Tuesday, with the eternal words with which William Shakespeare depicted the pleas of King Richard 11 to British noblemen at daggers-drawn in his forecourt, some 431 years ago – forgive, forget, reconcile and be agreed.
It was his way of offering his olive branch to seek healing for members still lacerated with old wounds of the bitter battle for the soul of the club, which ended up in courtrooms after failure to settle it inside the games-room, the tennis courts and other troubleshooting arenas.
Flanked by his wife, Ify, whose contribution he lavishly acknowledged, Adewunmi, at his inauguration at the club’s main hall, apparently recalling the incident, which nearly crippled affairs at the family club, said: “To those who are still aggrieved, I speak to you now, directly and without condition. Whatever the disagreement, the Club is bigger than any single dispute, and its future is far more important than any lingering bitterness.
“Whatever the words that were said or the decisions that felt unjust, I invite you, today, to lay it down. No dispute is worth dividing us. I extend to you my open hand and my open heart. This is your club. It needs you. I need you.
“The chapter we are about to write is better written together and it MUST be written. So please sheathe your swords. Come home. The gates are open, the seats are ready, and the work is too important for any of us to sit it out.”
The President, who was full of praises for the club’s Board of Trustees, was particularly enthused with the contributions of Aare Kola Oyefeso, the leader of the exulted body, whom he described as “a conscience and compass of this club,” for donating his wealth of experience.
Hear him: “To our Board of Trustees, and to Chief Kola Oyefeso in particular, I offer my deepest respect. You have been the still, small voice of wisdom in the seasons of noise.
“Every time this Presidency needed an elder’s hand on the shoulder, you were there. The Management Council and the Board have not merely coexisted during my tenure, we have collaborated, and the Club is better for it. I am indeed very grateful sir.
Expressing similar gratitude to other members of the Management Council Officers and the Chairmen of the various Sections and their Committees as well as the members, he enjoined them to prepare for the task ahead.
He added: “I see you all. I greet you all. And I am profoundly glad to be standing here, still standing, before you today. Let me begin with a confession. When I first stood in this position three years ago, I made promises. Big promises. The kind that sound magnificent from a podium and look somewhat different at seven in the morning when the contractor has not shown up and the cheque has not cleared….but I did not run away.
“I did not make excuses. I did not hide behind procedure or blame my predecessors. I rolled up my sleeves, as you well know I am rather fond of doing, and I worked. Two terms. Hundreds of meetings. Thousands of decisions. One attempted character assassination which, I am glad to report, the character survived.
“And today, you have returned me unopposed for a third and final term. Not because I cannot be challenged. Not because the road ahead is smooth.
“But because you looked at my record, you weighed me as a man, you made your assessment, and you made your verdict. I receive this mandate with the full weight of gratitude and the full fire of purpose. Lagos Country Club — your President is back. And this time, we will finish the work.”
He also expressed gratitude for various members of the club, who had supported in many ways to keep it going, recalling particularly the donation of equipment worth millions of naira by Tunji Amosu, the Vice President of the club, saying such a selfless gesture defined the idea behind LCC as a family club.
Hear him: “He (Amosu) reached into his own pocket, deep into his pocket I might add, and donated equipment worth millions of Naira to our new clinic. Millions. I want to be clear: this was not government allocation. This was not a corporate write-off. This was one man saying, ‘I believe in this Club enough to invest my own resources in its wellbeing.’ That is the spirit of Lagos Country Club at its finest, and it deserves to be celebrated.
“But let me also say that greatness is not only measured in millions. Gifts are never less precious than the grand gesture, and for this reason, I want to honour those who gave what they had, and gave it gladly. Confidence Yunusa (D12848) donated pillows to our clinic, and before you smile, those pillows matter. They speak of someone who thought about the comfort of a sick fellow member on a sick bed. That is love in action.
“Also, Femi Oduwole (D14027) gave us a water dispenser. Clean water. To all who gave in any measure: this Club sees you, this Management Council thanks you, the Board of Trustees appreciates you and history, as I speak is recording you.”
By Sunny Igboanugo
Despite consistent usage, it has remained a powerful reality, the age-long saying that the drum sounds for a great man – in life and at death. Rather than becoming a tiring cliché its reality continues to emerge as demonstrable evidence from time to time.
So, when on Sunday, October 26, 2025, the cap lowered on the head of Ben-Chuks Nwosu – astute lawyer, consummate politician, inimitable humanist, gifted public speaker and foremost community leader, it was not just another historic event, many of which have trailed him over the years, but a clear statement on the persona of the former Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly – one meant to capture his import as a man who has conquered his territory and etched his name permanently on the sands of time.
The versatile lawyer and politician, was among the influential figures assembled for special recognition by Igwe Keneth Orizu 111, Monarch of the Nnewi ancient kingdom – one of the iconic traditional stools in Anambra State – to mark his 100 years of age and 62 years on the throne, as one of the features of the historic event.
The monarch, the oldest and longest reigning king in Nigeria was emphatic on why Nwosu made that list – it was an acknowledgement of his positive contributions, not only to the development of the ancient town, but to the advancement of humanity in general through his engagements in many aspects, especially his chosen career of law and his vocation as a politician.
Ostensibly, the royal father wanted to make that statement both as part of the records of his reign and to demonstrate the essence of the biblical saying – to whom much is given, much is expected – and how this son on of Nnewi land had over time, fits that bill perfectly.
For instance, not only the monarch, the people of Anambra, if not the conscious world, bore and still bear witnesses to how, the primus inter pares of the Anambra legislature, Nwosu unsheathed his sword from the scabbards to confront the political hounds that attacked the state at that time, in defence of his territory – democracy.
The echoes of that historic period in the state, have continued to reverberate across the firmament, while the imprimatur has continued to be evident in demonstrably bold terms even now, as the doyen has again donated himself to yet a fresh battle – that of rescuing the people of Anambra from the abyss of despair as the state approaches the edge of the precipice where the current minders are driving it, through bad policies and unwholesome politics.
Currently, the Chief of Staff (CoS) of the John Chuma Nwosu (JCN) Campaign Council, the ex-lawmaker, has become a central voice for the new advocacy in Anambra by JCN – the man, who has taken it as duty to rescue the state and reverse the evil political vehicle, fast galloping towards that inevitable destruction.
Ndubuisi Nwobu, Deputy Governorship Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), at the hosting of members of the council at a reception organised at his Nnewi country home, shortly after the event at the Igwe’s palace, spared no words in acknowledging this aspect of the former Speaker’s persona, particularly his contributions to both politics and human development in Anambra State and beyond.
Nwosu takes traditional greetings with Igwe Orizu
For Nwobu, himself one of the biggest names in Anambra political arena, bearing the scars of its different political wars, it was a recognition of a fellow warrior in the battlefield and a colleague in arms, whose contributions are vital for the mission at hand.
The former Chairman of Awka South Local Government Area and former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who represented the governorship candidate at the event was emphatic in guaranteeing that Nwosu would neither relent or be deterred by the arsenal of war being assembled by the anti-democratic, anti-progressive and clearly negative forces in the state, who seem intent on relentlessly asphyxiating it of life.
Hear him: “There is greater work ahead and I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll live up to expectation, because your passion for the service to mankind is exceptional. Whatever you set your mind on, you pursue it with so much gusto and vigour, as if your life depends on it. For you, there’s always no going back.
“Congratulations. The entire campaign council greets you. We thank you for what you have done and have no hesitation in our belief that with your contributions to this onerous task, we’re going to triumph. Remain strong. May the good Lord continue to strengthen you in the name of Jesus.”
Before Nwobu spoke, Prof. Zelinjo Igweze, Director, Women Mobilisation and Dr. CC Okeke, Deputy Director General (DDG) Political Matters, had also spoken in the same manner, paying glowing tribute to the Nnewi-born political juggernaut.
Ike Iwenofu, accomplished Engineer and Director General of the council, had earlier in his tribute on behalf of the members, also acknowledged Nwosu’s towering profile and invaluable contributions to the campaign efforts.
He wrote: “The entire John Chuma Nwosu Campaign Council bursts with joy as we celebrate our indefatigable Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Barr. Benchuks Nwosu, on this glorious day of honour and recognition by His Royal Majesty, Igwe Dr. Kenneth Orizu III of Nnewi, during the historic Centenary Birthday Celebration.
“This royal honour is not just a mark of distinction, but a celebration of character — a recognition of your steadfast loyalty, uncommon humility, and tireless service to humanity and our great movement. You have continued to distinguish yourself as a pillar of strength and a shining example of leadership, loyalty, and integrity. Your honour today reflects the values we hold dear — service, excellence, and commitment to the greater good.
“We rejoice with you, Ogbalike Nwachinemelu, and pray that this recognition opens even greater doors of favour, grace, and impact in your journey ahead. A thousand cheers to a worthy son, a noble leader, and a loyal ally!”
Nwosu with Nwobu
But for the man of the moment, the event evoked memories decked in family history, particularly depicting a family of warriors, whose essence was captured in the roles they played in defence of the territorial integrity of the Obuofia Nnewi enclave in the years of yore.
He tells the story: “My father, Nwoke Modo was a warrior and it became his assignment to move from Obuofia to wage wars against our attackers. Where we live now is called Agawana, meaning war trenches. So, Eze Ugbuonyanta, the great grandfather of the person that gave me this title today, named him Ogbalike. That means, when things get tough, he is invited.
“So, when this came up about a year ago, I told the Igwe that I had a senior brother, but they said the knew the history, but that this was given to me in recognition of the special role I played as Speaker, particularly during the impeachment saga (of former governor, Peter Obi.)
“They said I proved some genetic trails when I did not betray him as then Chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Council and I did not betray Dr. Dozie Ikedife, who was the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. So, this has been in the making for more than a year. In line with tradition, I had to let my elder brother know and he gave his consent that I could go ahead and take our grandfather’s title. That’s what I have done today. Since he was a warrior, they felt that the role I had played in Anambra politics akin to that of a warrior, hence the title.”
With this historic aspect, it might no longer be surprising to anyone the line the former Speaker is toeing, why his battle-weary body is lacerated with the scars of war and why his path both in politics, law and other endeavours is strewn with courage and forthrightness. It lives in the family – an acknowledgement that Ogbalike Nnewi is not just a title, it is history!
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