Nigeria Police High Command has justified the payment of N50,000 to constables on election duty in Osun state.
The governorship election in the state is slated for Saturday, September 22, 2018.
Reacting to a story in a national daily, Force PRO, Ag DCP Jimoh Moshood, said the money was paid to them as election duty allowance for the rank and file.
Moshood states: “The Force wishes to categorically state that the story is absolutely misleading and an outright misinformation which is figments of imagination of the two (2) writers. The Federal Government did not pay constables N50,000 each for election duty, others more as claimed in the report.
“It is imperative and incumbent on the Force to set the record straight and educate the writers of the story that the payment of allowance to Officers and Men of the Force and that of other Security and Safety Agencies complementing the Nigeria Police Force in election security is statutory and transparent in line with the Financial Regulations and Public Service Rules as it has to do with Duty Tour Allowance.
“To further disabuse the minds of members of the public who must have read the report and correct the mischief by the writers of the story, the following is the breakdown of the Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) entitlements paid to Police Officers and Men deployed for election duty in Osun State and other previous Gubernatorial elections held in Edo, Ondo, Anambra and Ekiti States.
i. Ranks and File (Constable to Sergeant) – N5,000 DTA per Day X 10 Days = N50,000
ii. Inspector to Chief Superintendent of Police – N12,000 DTA per Day X 10 Days = N120,000
iii. Assistant Commissioner of Police – Assistant Inspector General of Police – N16,000 DTA per Day X 10 Days = N160,000
iv. Deputy Inspector General of Police – N20,000 DTA per Day X 10 Days = N200,000
“Consequently, either due to outright ignorance or deliberate mischief, the writers rushed to the press for purposes best known to them without a thorough check of what the Public Service Rules and Financial Regulations provide for every police personnel deployed for special duty, Election Duty and other ad-hoc duties as Duty Tour Allowance (DTA).
“The Force will continue to hold the media in a very high regard and as veritable partner in ensuring the protection of lives and property of all Nigerians, however, the Nigeria Police Force implores them not to allow the pages of their esteemed Newspapers to be used to publish unverified, misleading, mischievous and beer palour gossip.”
