Osun Polls: Aggrieved Police officers Stage Protest Over Non-Payment Of Election Allowance

Officers of the Nigeria Police in Osun State who were drafted to provide security during the recent Osun governorship election are angry over the failure of their leadership to pay their allowances for the poll.

It was learnt that no fewer than 40 percent of the rank and file of the state command who monitored the election have been deprived of their entitlements after the exercise.

Sources within the Police Command informed that its leadership has withheld the funds meant for officers’ feeding and other sundry allowances.

They alleged that the affected personnel were compelled to cater for their need from their personal funds after they were promised that they would be paid the moment election was over.

Most of the affected officers are those from the 39 PMF Squadron, the State Intelligence Bureau, Zone XI Police Headquarters, some SCID operatives, and a few divisional police personnel, all within Osun State.

The affected aggrieved personnel urged President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the police leadership for the non-payment of their election allowances adding that withholding their entitlements would demoralize them in further discharge of their duties.

The source disclosed, “Most of us are already protesting this cheating within ourselves. We ought to have been paid our allowances the moment we were deployed to secure the governorship election in Osun State but those who were supposed to pay us said we should wait till Sunday when the election would have ended.

“It’s about five days after the election was held, about 40 percent of the Osun Police Command workforce have not received their allowances. We feel that it’s an act of injustice for some of our superior officers to have received their allowances while they are hoarding our own.

“We need this money because we worked for it under stressful circumstances. It will demoralize us to see that after working for the peaceful conduct of the election, some people feel they can enjoy our sweat.”

“We the aggrieved police officers want the President (Buhari) to probe the non-payment of election allowances in the July 16 Osun gubernatorial election.

It’s worrisome to us that over 40 percent of the workforce in Osun are not paid. Officers affected included the 39 PMF Squadron, the State Intelligence Bureau, Zone XI Police Headquarters, some SCID operatives, few divisional police personnel, all within Osun State,” the source said.

When contacted, the Osun Commissioner of Police, Olawale Olokode, said he was not around during the election and didn’t participate in the exercise.

He said top officers who led the election security team may be able to react to the issue.