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.
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.
-NIGERIA TRIBUNE
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