There is seething tension in the police service over a new directive by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Alhassan that stipulates an age limit for police officers eligible to serve on UN missions abroad.

The directive dated December 15, 2013 and signed by the Director of Administration, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga on behalf of the IGP, states that: henceforth, police officers who have attained the age of 55 and above are not eligible to perform duties on UN missions.

What seems to have exacerbated the tension among officers is the fact that the IGP who hit the retirement age of 60 last year, was awarded a two-year contract by the government amidst protestations from colleague officers, to enable him to hold on to his post to the chagrin of others who were eligible for the same position.

According to the aggrieved top police officers who spoke to The General Telegraph on condition of anonymity, it was strange that such a directive could come from the IGP who when at 58 years of age, was in Liberia but noticing that the IGP mantle was about to fall on him, returned to Ghana.

What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, a top police officer said, adding: “If at the age of 58, he was serving on a UN mission and is now serving two years on contract after his retirement, why should he put an impediment in the way and deprive his subordinates aged 55 or above from going on a UN mission?”

The paper has gathered that currently over 200 police personnel had been shortlisted and are on standby for participation in a UN mission. Among them are a number of police officers who are already in the 55-year bracket.

Further information gathered indicates that currently, some of the top police officers on UN mission in the Sudan are themselves pensioners who, like the IGP, are serving on contract.

The aggrieved police officers who spoke to the paper have appealed to President John Mahama to step in to reverse the directives for peace to prevail in the Police Service.