Segun Atanda/
Members of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) who have been waiting for a new salary upgrade with bated breath can now start planning for Christmas.
NewsmakersNG has just confirmed the approval of the payment from President Muhammadu Buhari and a statement has been issued to that effect from the Villa.
The Publishers of NewsmakersNG have been inundated with telephone calls from policemen anxious to receive upgraded salaries and rent subsidies approved by the Federal Government after we exclusively reported the development.
Most of the calls and enquiries from NewsmakersNG Facebook page started from the eastern and north-central parts of Nigeria then it went national.
Google has also reported huge search by officers seeking more information on the proposed pay package, using Search Engine Terms including ‘police salary’, ‘police to enjoy Christmas’, ‘newsmakers on police new approved salary’ and ‘Buhari top up police salary’.
One of the excited policemen called NewsmakersNG promising to buy N1000 recharge card for the publishers if the dream comes true, and there were others who threatened to stop reading NewsmakersNG stories if the news turns out to be fake.
Most of them wanted to know if President Muhammadu Buhari would actually make this year’s Christmas different as reported by the newspaper.
Just as we are the first Nigerian newspaper to publish President Buhari’s confirmation today because we stayed on the story, NewsmakersNG was the first to report on November 8 that a new salary structure with rent subsidy had been approved for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) by the Federal Government.
A statement was issued today after the President received the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris and a delegation from the Police Service Commission led by Justice Clara Ogunbiyi, who represented the Chairman, Mr Musiliu Smith on a Thank You visit.
PRESIDENT BUHARI DEMANDS MORE FROM POLICE AS HE APPROVES ENHANCED SALARY STRUCTURE
President Muhammadu Buhari Monday assured that his administration will continue to give attention to the welfare and operational needs of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) with a view to restoring its lost primacy in the internal security framework of the country.
Speaking during an audience in State House, Abuja with members of the Nigeria Police Service Commission and the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force on a “Thank You” visit following his approval of Rank Salary Structure Adjustment, by which salary, allowances and pension of policemen will be increased, President Buhari regretted that the inability of the police in their constitutional role as the frontline force in the prevention of crime, had led to military involvement in the maintenance of law and order throughout the country.
According to the President, “From Taraba to Sokoto, to the South-South, people don’t feel secure until they see the military. I am pleased to make the increase in salary and allowances in the hope that it will increase the performance index of the police and strengthen Nigeria’s internal security system.”
President Buhari observed that the more efficient the police is, the more confident the government and citizens will be.
According to him, “The military should be reserved for higher tasks. The police should be able to cope well with the challenges of armed robbery, kidnapping for ransom and such crimes. In every town and village, there is the presence of the police. From all these places, they should be able to forward first-class intelligence to you on which to act.”
“There is a need to amplify the question of more men of the police, especially given the condition we are in – emergency in the North-East, pervasive insecurity and abduction for ransom and banditry in many parts of the country. I congratulate you on the success you recorded against criminals taxing people and stopping them from their farms. We are expecting more from you,” the President told the police.
Full-time Commissioner in the Nigeria Police Service Commission, Justice Clara Ogunbiyi (rtd), who represented the chairman, Musiliu Smith, had informed the President that the Rank Salary Structure Adjustment would enhance police welfare and morale.
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, also assured that the police would redouble efforts to ensure free, fair and credible elections throughout the country next year.
GARBA SHEHU
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
November 26, 2018