BY EVELYN USMAN

KANO— Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. Caleb Olubolade, has said that henceforth, sound academic qualification and character  would be the major conditions for admission  into the Nigeria Police Academy, as part of effort to restructure the Force.

Olubolade, who made this known during his visit to the Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State, weekend, said the era where people  maneouvered  their ways into the Police academy  was gone, even as he gave contractors handling building projects at the academy a 12-day ultimatum to complete  them.

The minister who was accompanied by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar , stated that  prospective candidates into the academy must be Nigerian citizens between  18 and 22 years old and must not be less than 5.6ft for males and 4.4 ft for females.

Such candidates, he said, must possess a minimum of six credits in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) or the National Examinations Council (NECO) at not more than two sittings, including a credit in English and Mathematics, with subjects relevant to the candidate’s chosen field of study.

He stated that results obtained earlier than 2007 would not be accepted, adding that  prospective candidates must also obtain satisfactory scores in written examination and  oral  interview.

This, he explained, was aimed at ensuring that the academy graduated only qualified students that would project the image of the force in  a positive light.

While inspecting on-going projects at the academy, he directed that the projects be completed before the end of February to accommodate fresh cadets whose selection he said was near completion.

Although the contractors attributed the slow pace of work to lack of funds, the minister assured that funds would be made available as long as they (contractors) were ready to work.

The Inspector-General of Police, on his part, acknowledged effort by the Police Affairs  Ministry  to improve the quality of officers produced by the academy, assuring that the police management team would  do everything  to support the minister to achieve this goal.