{"id":214939,"date":"2016-05-17T14:04:32","date_gmt":"2016-05-17T14:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=214939"},"modified":"2016-05-17T14:04:32","modified_gmt":"2016-05-17T14:04:32","slug":"igps-170-changes-in-7months-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/05\/igps-170-changes-in-7months-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"IGP\u2019s 170 changes in 7 months; what you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"
Every newly appointed Inspector General of Police, IGP, reshuffles his men and women from the top to the bottom or vice versa.<\/p>\n
The changes are made mostly with the first three months of occupying the top position in the service. Whereas the changes may be for strategic operational police reasons, the IGP makes the transfers to cement his position or assert authority.<\/p>\n
So you are more likely to be elevated or placed at a \u201cglorious position\u201d than being sent far away from the central authority if you are in the good books of the IGP.<\/p>\n
IGP John Kudalor made 29 changes last November, 61 in January and 80 on Monday May 8; making a total of 170 changes in a space of seven months.<\/p>\n
Many have made attempts to link the latest changes to a grand election strategy.\u00a0It may be difficult to directly prove the correlation but it\u2019s worth noting that District Commanders at some flash points during elections have been moved.<\/p>\n
Per the latest changes, commanders at Assin Fosu, Yendi, Manhyia, Tamale, Prampram, just to name a few were made. These places are potential flashpoints for violence this year.<\/p>\n
The Formed Police Unit, FPU, for operational purposes, is the most strategic unit of the police during any election season.<\/p>\n
The unit is headed by the feared Chief Superintendent Naa Yakubu who has scores of well-trained police men under his tutelage.<\/p>\n
With their armored vehicles and defensive and offensive equipment, they will be relevant in this year\u2019s election. So it\u2019s not surprising that some changes were made there. In this case, ASP Eric Awiadem from the Bole District has been moved to work at the FPU.<\/p>\n
The regional commanders are an integral part of the IGP\u2019s \u201ccabinet\u201d. You need to be in his good books to be sent to head a region. With the latest changes, there are some observations.<\/p>\n
DCOP Peterkin Yentumi Gyinae has been moved from the Volta Region to the Eastern Region to replace the late DCOP Angwotogbe Awuni.<\/p>\n
Consistent complaints of armed attacks in Ho and other towns in the Volta Region were a major setback to him.<\/p>\n
Some chiefs had openly complained about the security situation in the region and the IGP had to operationally intervene. But he can be credited for managing quite well the \u2018Fulani\u2019 menace in the region. The situation didn\u2019t explode like that of the Ashanti Region.<\/p>\n
The same threat is in the Eastern Region, specifically in the Oda and Kwahu areas and he may be the right person to manage the situation.<\/p>\n
And now, the case of the Accra Region. COP Dr George Akuffo Dampare who was the Director General Finance was sent to the Accra Regional Police Command to head the command.<\/p>\n
At the time, some of us advanced compelling arguments of a rank clash because of the appointment of the then DCOP Christian Tetteh Yohuno as Director General Operations of the service.<\/p>\n
He was however elevated to the status of COP. Dr. Dampare has been moved to the Police Training and Staff College. Having served as Director General Finance, Director General Welfare, Director General Patrols, and being an integral part of the Police Management Board, many security watchers may not have been expecting that move.<\/p>\n
After he directly led an operation to arrest the suspected killer of former Abuakwa North MP and after launching new programmes to fight crime in the capital, his transfer came as a surprise.<\/p>\n
There were no reports of violence during the Limited registration exercise in Accra and flashpoints like Odododiodio was peaceful, but his transfer may signal a new page in the history of the Police Training and Command Staff College at Winneba.<\/p>\n
His successor ACP Timothy Yoosa Bonga knows the Accra terrain very well. He was formerly the Nima Divisional Police Commander and served as deputy Accra Regional Police Commander under Tetteh-Yohuno and Dr. Dampare.<\/p>\n
He is a calm police officer and not a hot-headed commander; a good ingredient of every successful commander in the region.<\/p>\n
The swapping of the regional commanders of the Western and Central Regions doesn\u2019t really raise any eyebrows. Only that DCOP Yaagy Akuribah has been moved twice under IGP John Kudalor.<\/p>\n
He was the Regional Commander in the Eastern Region when he was moved to the Central Region last November and now to the Western Region.<\/p>\n
DCOP David Nenyi Ampah Benin has been moved twice in seven months.<\/p>\n
He was the Director General of Public Affairs and was sent to Head the Police Investigations and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS).<\/p>\n
He is now the Director General in charge of Special Duties. When he was the Director General of Public Affairs, Public Relations was a management function such that he was part of management meetings and could contribute and vote on proposals.<\/p>\n
His successor Superintendent Cephas Arthur is a Director of Public Affairs and not a management member. This defeats the modern application of Public Relations.<\/p>\n