The newly appointed Inspector General of Police (IGP) David Asante Apeatu, has officially been presented with the sword of command as the 19th IGP in the Ghana Police Service.

Dr John Kudalor, the outgoing IGP, handed over the sword as he officially retires from the Service.

This was at a colourful change of command and pulling-out ceremony for Dr John Kudalor at the Police Depot in Accra.

The celebration was attended by Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Marshall Michael Samson Oje; senior officers from other security services; police management board members; retired IGPs; chiefs and some of the past and the current government officials.

Mr Kudalor retired from the Service two weeks ago, after serving as IGP for about 13 months.

He was appointed by former President John Dramani Mahama to the position in an acting capacity in November 2015 and was confirmed the substantive IGP in February 2016.

In his remarks, the outgoing head of the Police Service thanked both the past and the present governments for their support during his tenure.

He recalled times when he had to stomach bitterness, ridicule, blatant lies, among other things, from some Ghanaians, while urging the new IGP to be strong in order to deliver.

“I call on all, including personnel, to support the acting IGP, David Asante Apeatu, to effectively discharge his duties. Let’s continue to work hard to lift the image of the service and mother Ghana,” he entreated.

Kudalor charged personnel to continue to be one another’s keeper and work as a team always. “Policing is a call and together as a team, you will succeed,” he noted.

He urged the government to allocate resources and logistics to the Service to make it deliver effectively.

Those whom he offended, he asked for their forgiveness.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday, January 25, named COP David Asante Apeatu as the acting Inspector General of Police after Mr Kudalor had gone to the Flagstaff House to bid the president farewell.

Until his appointment, COP Apeatu was the Director General in-charge of Information Communication Technology (ICT).

He had also served as the Director General in-charge of Research & Planning, and was once the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).