The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in Akwa Ibom has called for improved welfare package for police officers in the country.
CLO Secretary in the state Comrade Christopher Ekpo made the call at a stakeholders meeting with the Assistant Inspector General of Policemen, Zone 6,Calabar,Okunlola Kamaldeen in Uyo.
Ekpo commended the Commissioner of Police for the transformation in the State Police Headquarters since his assumption of office some months ago.
He drew their attention to areas of infrastructural and logistical deficit in the State Police Command, such as the poor state of the Nsit Ibom and Ibiono Ibom divisional buildings and other divisions that lack functional patrol vehicles.
He assured the Police of continued support and collaboration by the CLO and urged the Akwa Ibom State Government to sustain its support to the State Police Command, particularly in the area of logistics.
The Secretary called for improved welfare of police personnel in the State and urged the Police to train and retrain its personnel on human rights standards.
In his response the AIG thanked the stakeholders for turning up for the meeting and appreciated Akwa Ibom State for maintaining the lead as a peaceful domain.
He commended stakeholders for their support to the Police in the State and called for sustained support and cooperation, particularly in the area of logistics and information.
In another developement, the Civil Liberties Organisation has said it would partner the National Population Commission,NPC, to ensure the success of the next year’s population census in Nigeria.
State chairman of CLO Mr Franklin Isong made the pledge when the organization paid an advocacy visit to the Federal Commissioner,NPC, Engr.Benedict Ukpong in Uyo.
Isong who underscored the importance of NPC as a key institution of government saddled with the onerous responsibility of conducting the national population census the data from which provides the basis of national planning identified publicity and public enlightenment as key enablers of the census.
The CLO helmsman stated that population census is pivotal to national planning and national resources allocation and assured that the CLO would engage in advocacies aimed at educating and enlightening the citizenry and bringing to the fore for redress challenges and areas of need of the NPC in the State.
Ukpong in his response promised to partner with CLO and assured that NPC is determined to deliver an accurate census next year and restated that census remained necessary for data generation, planning and resource allocation.
The commissioner stated that when it is considered that by 2050 Nigeria’s population is projected at Four Hundred Million and in the face of the fact that Nigeria’s landmass will remain static, the need for an accurate population and housing census cannot be overstated.
The NPC would continue to place emphasis on publicity and public enlightenment and promised that the 2023 population and housing census would be transformational and digitalised and identified the areas of need of the NPC in the State as advocacy, logistics and publicity.
The NPC according to him has enhanced its capacity to conduct the 2023 population and housing census having already completed the enumeration area demarcation of the State and country and have also conducted trial census in nine local government areas in the State and one local government area from each of the six geographical zones of the country.
Ukpong commended the CLO in the State for its laudable civil society engagements and assured that the NPC partnership with the CLO would be sustained.
