THE rank and file of the Nigeria Police, including inspectors, have threatened to embark on strike, beginning from May 15, if their request for promotion is not granted.
After a meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the enlisted policemen lamented what they described as disparity in the promotion exercise carried out by the police authorities, as against the order by the Police Service Commission (PSC).
Quoting a letter, dated February 12, 2009, which was written to the Inspector General of Police by the PSC on promotion course, the rank and file noted that “the commission graciously approved that the entire 2,886 candidates who sat for the examination be sent for the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) promotion course and be upgraded.”
They lamented that almost five years after the said written order, about 2,299 rank and file of the police that sat for the examination that day were yet to be promoted to the rank of ASP.
They alleged that after the letter, said to have been written after a test conducted through the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) for the rank and file and inspectors in possession of university degrees or Higher National Diploma (HND), the police authorities released in two batches, the names of some people who did not participate in the examinations at all for promotion.
“For the two batches that are so far released, those that scored 23 per cent are today Deputy Superintendent of Police, while those that scored 53, 51, 52, 50 are still rank and file and inspector of police till today,” they alleged in the petition.
They further alleged that former chairman of PSC, Parry Osayande, told them in confidence in March 2013 that he ordered the current Inspector General of Police, M. D. Abubakar, to release the other names of officers to be promoted, but, according to them, nothing had been done till date.
The rank and file, therefore, threatened to embark on strike by May 15, if the 2,299 junior officers that sat for the examination were not allowed to run promotion at the same time.
They also asked that another examination be conducted for graduates, so that they could be promoted likewise, while further asking that their salaries be increased.
The affected officers, in a petition made available to the Nigerian Tribune after their meeting in Uyo, also called for the immediate payment of benefit to the families of those who died during insurgencies in some parts of the country, including the provision of scholarships for their children.
Petitioners are not policemen —Deputy Force Spokesman
Reacting on the threat to strike by some rank and file in the police force to go on strike on May 15, the Deputy Force Public Relation Officer, CSP Abayomi Shogunle, said that those who wrote the petition are not policemen.
According to him, in the history of Nigeria Police, the present IGP M.D Abubakar has promoted more than any other administration in the force and the records are there.
CSP Shogunle noted that since IGP Abubakar came on board two years ago, he has cleared the backlogs of promotions that had been on ground.
He said that just last month, over 24,000 police officers were promoted, out of which over 18,000 are members of rank and file.
The Deputy Force Spokesman said that there are currently over 15,000 rank and file on promotion courses on election and security duties across the country.
This plan, he added, is to meet up to 30,000 beneficiaries for promotion by the IGP.
Source: Tribune
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