Some police officers deployed to provide security during Saturday’s election claimed they have only been paid N2,000.
The officers, who pleaded not to be named, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of being insensitive to their needs.
Three of the police officers, who were among those guarding the road leading to INEC headquarters, asked our reporter to hold on for a minute after he identified himself as a journalist.
The officers, who took turns to speak, said they were deployed from various states for election, but were not well cared for.
“You can’t believe that since I came to Awka a day before the election, I have only been given N2000 for feeding and accommodation.
“They didn’t provide anything else for us. No accommodation, nothing. Some of us have been sleeping on chairs and in police vehicles. Sometimes there’s even no place to shower. This is not fair at all,” one of them lamented.
One of the officers asked our reporter if he is aware of “any provisions made for police officers sent from other states.”
Earlier, a police officer was overheard telling a journalist: “You people will go to your hotels, bath and refresh, and when you’re coming back you won’t even buy us a bottle of water, and later you people will claim we’re one.”
INEC Public Relations Officer in Anambra State Mr Frank Egbo said those who were on election duties on Saturday have been paid.
“If each of them said they were paid N2000 each, then we have been magnanimous enough,” he said.
According to him, each polling unit had a budget of N3000 for the police officers attached to it.
Egbo said if there are six police officers in a unit, for instance, each of them would get N500, which is the minimum an officer is expected to be paid for the day.
Where they are two, each of them will get N1500.
He said INEC was only indebted to only those who worked in the units on election day.
Asked if all of them had been paid, Egbo said outstanding allowances was still being processed.
He added that the commission was liaising with the banks to work out a means of transfering the funds more easily, considering the huge amount involved.
Meanwhile, police officers said they were directed to allow only “18 selected” media organisations into the INEC headquaters for the result announcement.
Premium Times reporter Ben Ezeamalu said when he contacted the INEC spokesman on phone, he was told his online medium “would not be allowed to cover the final collation.”
“You are not on the list so you better leave before the police embarrasses you,” he quoted the PRO as saying.
“Police dogs have been used to chase un-selected journalists away from INEC headquarters in Awka,” Ezeamalu tweeted. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Shame on INEC, Nigeria Police and FGN.
ReplyDeleteonly N2000? very poor
ReplyDelete