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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Policemen’s Anger Over Salary Deductions – By Michael Jegede

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POLICE COLLEGE 2

Members of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have continued to express total resentment and displeasure over what most of them described as
the indiscriminate deductions from their salaries.
The policemen could not fathom why anything for whatever reason should
be deducted from their paltry pay package, which to them, is obviously
nothing to make a song or dance about when compared to the great risk
involved in their job.
The Mechanized Salary Section (MSS) of the police was said to have
made deductions of N5, 500 from the salaries of the officers in July
2013. They are to deduct same amount in August, making a total of N11,
000, which the police authorities said is meant for the procurement of
Fokas Savings and Loans Limited shares for the officers.
Some of the policemen are much more enraged because they were not duly
informed before the deductions were made. It was only after the first
deductions had been made that they were told about the scheme by their
“ogas at the top”. Also, another reason why members of the NPF are so
exasperated is that the shares procurement deductions came after N2000
was said to have been deducted from the salaries of senior police
officers, while the junior officers were made to sacrifice N1000 as
compulsory contribution towards the World Police and Fire Games (WPFG)
in which Nigerian policemen reportedly participated.
This, to the officers, does not make any sense as they believe that
the government should have been able to take up the responsibility of
footing the bill for their involvement in the games. Nigeria featured
for the first time in the biennial athletic event open to active and
retired law enforcement and fire service personnel throughout the
world, which took place between August 1 and 10, 2013 in Northern
Ireland. Some policemen are doubtful of the judicious utilization of
the money deducted for the WPFG, as they are of the view that those in
charge should be probed to know whether some people ended up feeding
fat from their collective contributions.
After the deductions from their July salaries for the shares, a police
inspector was quoted by a national newspaper as saying, “Last week I
received a text message from my bank notifying me that my salary had
been paid. However, I found out that N5, 000 had been deducted. It was
a few days later that we were given forms and we were then told that
we had to buy shares compulsorily. How could the deductions have been
made before I even filled the form? The police authorities are
leveraging on the fact that policemen cannot openly protest. The
Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, must look into this.”
One of the policemen who spoke with this writer was visibly angry at
the decision of the police authorities to arbitrarily deduct their
salaries without their consent. You could see the anger clearly
written all over him. Hear him: “Please tell them to return our money
and stop any further deduction from our salaries. We are not
interested in buying any share. How can they forcefully deduct our
money to buy shares for us when we are not interested? Why should they
continue to cut our pay that is not even enough to take us home? The
IG should forget this share thing and work towards ensuring an
improved salary package for us. Of all the security agencies in the
country, policemen are the least paid, even the Civil Defence men are
bettered paid than us. This is not fair. This is the fight we want
them to fight for us please.”
However, some of the police officers see the move as a welcome
development. Those in this category feel that the police authorities
should rather be commended for coming up with a scheme that will
encourage policemen to save, as according to them, many of their
colleagues are found of spending frivolously without keeping aside
anything from their salaries for the rainy days.
In response to the outcry among the NPF members over the said salary
deductions, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar,
came out to make clarifications on why the decision was taken.
Abubakar speaking through the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer
(FPRO), Frank Mba, said the N5, 500 deductions from the July salaries
of all police personnel was to the advantage of every member of the
force.
The IGP maintained that the money was for nothing else other than to
ease the floating of a mortgage bank, in order to meet the housing
needs of policemen. He further explained that the establishment of the
bank became essential after policemen had recurrently faced
disappointment and frustration by National Housing Fund (NHF) in their
efforts to acquire loans to rent, buy or build a house for themselves.
Noting that by the deductions every policeman would become shareholder
in the bank and will be entitled to a share certificate, loans and
dividends, Mba said: “The Nigeria Police Force remains the highest
contributor to the Federal Mortgage Bank. As at date, contributions by
police officers to the NHF and remittances to the FMBN total
approximately N8billion. Unfortunately, the Nigeria Police Force has
not benefited from the facilities available at the FMBN under the NHF
Act while other agencies and corporate groups benefit from huge
contributions of policemen. Why? Because the Nigeria Police Force
could not float a Mortgage Bank to easily access the required loans
for its officers and men. Efforts of the Nigeria Police Force over the
years, to establish a mortgage bank had been stalled by administrative
instabilities generally occasioned by frequent leadership changes.
Apart from other technicalities and statutory requirements by the
Central Bank of Nigeria and other regulatory agencies, the
capitalisation sum of N2.5 billion for one state branch or N5billion
for a national branch is required before a mortgage bank can be
licensed. Considering the interests of the police in accessing its
huge contributions to the NHF, an entirely owned mortgage bank is
needed to maximally protect the long-term housing initiative for
generations of officers/men and even retirees.”
On why the officers were not properly briefed before the deductions
were effected, the police spokesman disclosed that when the IG came up
with the scheme, he had invited Commissioners of Police from all over
the country to keep them abreast of his plan, with the expectation
that they will pass the message across to their underlings. He,
however, observed that from the acrimonious reactions generated by the
deductions, it was apparent that none of them deemed it fit to have
informed the officers beforehand.
Much as I would want to agree that this scheme is laudable and every
police officer should embrace it, I do not think it is appropriate to
make it mandatory. You cannot compel somebody to accept an offer you
are making to him if he is not interested in it. Therefore, the police
authorities should make the scheme optional for only those who are
fully interested in being part of it. Period!

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Michael Jegede, a media expert writes from Abuja

 

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