As he prepares for the end of his service on July 31, out-going Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar has presented a dark horse to President Goodluck Jonathan as his preferred successor.

Credible sources close to both the Presidency and the top hierarchy of the Nigerian Police disclosed that Abubakar has been pushing for the AIG Zone 7 Suleiman Abba from Jigawa State as the next IGP.

News Express learnt that after extensive lobby of those very close to Dr. Jonathan, the out-going IGP was at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, last week Wednesday, July 23, AIG Abba, apparently to physically present him to the President.

Several senior police officers are, however, said to be stoutly opposed to the choice of Abba, who was not previously mentioned among those favoured by the Police Service Commission (PSC), which is supposed to recommend who becomes the next top cop of the nation. Echoing the sentiments of many officers who spoke on the condition of anonymity, one senior police officer said: “Any officer recommended by the IG is not acceptable to us because the officer will do his biddings. That means we will continue to experience the lopsided postings. The President should not yield.”

Our source disclosed that some top South-South leaders are already kicking against the choice of a Northern Muslim as the next IGP. The matter reportedly came up at recent a caucus meeting where they were said to have expressed worry over the danger of appointing a Northern Muslim as the next IG. Our source said: “They pointed out that if the INEC Chairman, the PDP Chairman, the National Security Adviser and the Police IG all Muslims from the North, the President’s chances of winning re-election in 2015 could be slim.”

There are two senior police officers from the South-South. They are DIG Mike Zuokumor in charge of ‘B’ Operations and AIG Solomon Arase in charge of Intelligence. South-South leaders are said to be making strong case for either of them, arguing that both are known to be intelligent, hardworking and fearless.

•Photo shows Abubakar’s preferred successor, AIG Zone 7 Suleiman Abba.

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