The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, said the Nigeria Police Force did not get any major project from the Federal Government in the past three years because the immediate past Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, did not relate well with his ministry.
He stated that the ministry had a cordial relationship with former IG Solomon Arase, but the situation changed when Idris took over.
The minister, who revealed this when the acting IG Mohammed Adamu paid him a courtesy call at his office in Abuja on Tuesday, commended the police boss for taking the right step to mend the strained relationship.
He said, “We are happy you took this step. We were having a cordial relationship with the police under IGP Solomon Arase but when IGP Idris came in, our relationship became strained.
“He never related with us; we were relating with the DIG of police in charge of operations.
“In three years, we have presented 25 memos to the Federal Executive Council in terms of policy and projects but none of the 25 memos that went to the FEC included the police.”
Dambazau emphasised the need for the ministry and the police to have a cordial relationship, stressing that the numerous security challenges confronting the country demanded collaboration among government institutions.
Speaking earlier, Adamu had pleaded with the minister to give the police the opportunity to be involved in the ministry’s activities.
“If we have not been cooperating the way we should, we are retracing our steps now,” he pleaded