Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has said that most Nigerians are oblivious of the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari can’t sack police officers.
The Minister made this comment while speaking ‘What can the president do for me?’ at the Yoruba Tennis Club annual lecture which held in Lagos on Friday November 5.
He made the comment in reaction to the #EndSARS protests of October 2020, which led to the disbandment of the special anti-robbery squad (SARS).
Pointing that many Nigerians do not understand governance structure, Fashola alleged that some of the protesters wanted the president to sack some policemen, including the inspector-general of police.
He said “At the onset of the protest against the special anti-robbery squad (SARS) when five demands were made in respect of the police and SARS, President Muhammadu Buhari weighed in on the side of the protesters.
“In my interaction with some of them, young and not so young, they wanted the president to sack some policemen, in some cases, even the inspector-general of police.
“During this interaction, I referred them to the provisions of the 1999 constitution as amended, that I pointed out to them that the president of Nigeria cannot sack a policeman because a policeman is not the employee of the president, but rather the employee of the police service commission.
“In my interaction with some of them, young and not so young, they wanted the president to sack some policemen, in some cases, even the inspector-general of police.
“During this interaction, I referred them to the provisions of the 1999 constitution as amended, that I pointed out to them that the president of Nigeria cannot sack a policeman because a policeman is not the employee of the president, but rather the employee of the police service commission.
“The president can only sack ministers and other appointees that he personally appoints to assist him and not any civil servant deployed to work for him such as a cook, driver, or administrative staff who are ordinary employees of the civil service commission.”