Police officers protested the non-payment of 11 months’ salary arrears on Thursday by going to the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ Correspondent Chapel, which is situated along Asutan Street in Akwa Ibom, the state capital, under the direction of Concerned Police Inspectors in Nigeria.
Speaking anonymously on behalf of their peers, the police officers from different formations lamented how their morale in the fight against crime had suffered due to the police authorities’ lack of commitment to their well-being.
In order to alleviate the harsh socioeconomic realities on their families, the officers pleaded with Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun to use his offices to effect the payment for the affected officers. The officers stated that they were approximately 1,500 officers promoted from inspector 11-to-1.
“We are over 1,500 personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Akwa Ibom Command, promoted from Inspector 11 to Inspector 1 by the IGP effective from September 10, 2023, with a signal dated March 21, 2024,” stated an appeal letter addressed to Egbetokun and copied to the president, national assembly, and the Police Service Commission.
“To date, we are still collecting old salaries as junior Inspectors instead of senior Inspectors since the IGP gave us the confirmation letters. So we have nowhere to run to than to the federal government who is our employee.
“We are uncomfortable with this inhuman treatment by our IGP, after putting many years into serving our country but our entitlements are being denied.
They lamented the high cost of living adding that it had begun to affect how they tended to their families.
They said, “We can no longer feed our families or pay their bills due to the high cost of essential items in the market. It’s difficult to believe that after being celebrated with our families for being elevated to another level, the IGP has been deliberately short-paying us for 11 months now, and by calculation, the shortfall is over N550,000 each.
“Our pay officers have consistently told us that the IPPS has been returning our voucher because there has been no instruction from the IGP when we have contacted them. We thus pose the following question: who is more concerned about our welfare, our IGP or the police authority?
“Since he assumed office as IGP, Mr. Egbetokun, had been promoting officers without commensurate payment of their financial accompaniments. “What are we going to use to buy the uniforms if our due salaries have not been paid?” is the only instruction we have received from him, originating from Abuja.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
