Non-payment of allowances affecting morale of policemen in northeast

Payment to be made soon, says Arase
AFTER months of silence, police personnel on counter-insurgency operations in Northeast Nigeria have lamented the non-payment of duty allowances by the state governments they are deployed to serve.

The Guardian gathered that the policemen are being owed various allowances, besides the complaints that the force management has been unable to improve their welfare and appropriately motivate them for enhanced performance.

Some of the policemen who volunteered information to The Guardian on condition of anonymity said, “It is not only non payment of the required allowances, but the fact that some that are paid are slashed drastically. It has been going down like that, from N30, 000, now it is N7, 000. But even to pay this one, it is a challenge.

“Also unlike our counter-parts in the military that have received their promotion, just a few of us were recently promoted. Our lives are also in danger as the lives of the soldiers. All these is demoralizing”, another officer said.

But the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase, after confirming that the policemen were being owed allowances, told reporters yesterday in Abuja while answering questions at the force headquarters that, the force leadership has been in contact with the concerned state executives and got assurance that the arrears would soon be paid. He explained that this would have been paid as and when due but for the decreased funds coming to the states, has encumbered the arrangement.

Recall that there is an understanding between the Police and the various states governors that, besides the salaries, which is the responsibility of the force management, allowances and other motivational incentives due to the personnel, deployed to assist in the counter-insurgency operations, should be augmented by the state governments they are serving. Some of the police personnel are owed more than four months allowances in arrears, this has undoubtedly affected moral.

While assuring that the allowances would be paid soon, Arase said the police personnel posted to the Northeast have special privileges, as they were given preferential consideration during the last promotion exercise.

“There is usually a promotion exams that officers must pass to be promoted to the next rank, but they were given waiver not to necessary participate in the exams before they got promoted. This is one of the considerations those serving in the Northeast got”, Arase said.

The IGP also hinted that the police management has concluded plans to give awards to its personnel in the counter insurgency operations as part of motivation incentives. Noting that personnel would not spend longer time in the north east but would be swapped from time to time to ensure they don’t loose focus in the counter terrorism war.

The IGP, while delivering his opening remarks at the Commissioners of Police (CPs) conference, said part of the discussions at the meeting would be on the rising “rate of kidnapping nationwide, deployment of personnel and logistics towards the restoration of civil authority in areas liberated from terror elements in the north east, cattle rustling and armed robbery and other highly organized crimes”.

Arase, also noted that a number of strategies has been adopted by the police management to implement the successes of its set goals and objectives, some of which are in collaboration with the international communities, towards human and institutional capacity development.

These according to the IGP would not only address the knowledge gaps in the police, but the “benefitting officers would form the nucleus of personnel that will drive the new policing vision of the Force in the area of coordinated response to the challenge of kidnapping, armed robbery and other highly-organized crimes which has been a source of concern to citizens.

“Procurement and massive mobilization of logistics and personnel for the purpose of strengthening ongoing operations to restore civil authority in areas liberated by the military in the northeast has reached advanced stage and by our projection, this exercise will commence in full force before the end of this month”, Arase said.