President Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a new salary package for police personnel.
Mr Buhari also 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.
Mr Buhari said this during an audience in the State House, Abuja,
with members of the Nigeria Police Service Commission and the leadership
of the Nigeria Police Force on a “Thank You” visit.
The visit followed his approval of Rank Salary Structure
Adjustment, by which salary, allowances and pension of police officers
will be increased.
Mr 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.”
Mr 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 team.
A Commissioner in the Nigeria Police Service Commission, Clara
Ogunbiyi, a retired judge, 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.