NDLEA Promotes 1,311 Staff

Chinedu Eze

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the promotion of a total of 1,311 staff.

This was made up 1,291 staff within the rank and file and 20 others converted to officer cadre.

NDLEA said the promotion exercise followed the completion of the process set in motion by the Abdallah to address the lingering backlog of promotion.

Spokesman of the agency, Jonah Achema, said the conversion of 20 of NDLEA staff was also consistent with the federal government Circular referenced HCSF/EPO/EIR/CND/100/98 of September 2016 which equates HND with degrees and as well as any other additional qualifications.

Abdallah explained that the exercise was expected to spur the benefitting staff to put in their best in the service of the agency and the nation.

Prior to the promotion exercise, the NDLEA workers had called for the probe and sack the agency’s Chairman, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (rtd).

The NDLEA officers in a petition against the agency’s chairman, had said, “Our salary is the least among security agencies despite the high risk in fighting drug barons. In addition, officers are highly aggrieved that the President has failed in terms of swift response to complaints of oppressive rule by Abdallah.

“We, therefore, call on Buhari to investigate Abdallah to confirm if truly officers have been stagnated in one rank for 14 years; if indeed Abdallah has refused to release running cost to commanders since he assumed office; if officers are dispirited and dejected over poor welfare; if the entitlement of late officers have been utterly neglected and if Abdallah has been draining the overhead cost of the agency on unnecessary and corruption driven foreign trips.”

The workers alleged that the rot in NDLEA was due to incompetence and “callousness” of Abdallah and accused him of lack of vision, absence of interest in the job, lack of patriotism and ineptitude.

The workers said allowing him to continue in office would further drive the agency into an irredeemable end.

“Our grievance is based on his failure in leadership capacity and has nothing to do with tribe and religion. We have lost more officers under Abdallah and none of them has been paid their benefits. Their children are out of schools and family members are living in abject squalor,” the workers said.