Lawmakers Invite AGF, Finance Minister, Others over Non-implementation of New Salary Structure for Police

Udora Orizu

The House of Representatives yesterday resolved to invite the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, over the non-implementation of the 20 per cent upward review of salaries of policemen approved by the Federal Government.

 Also invited were the Chairman of the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission, Mr. Ekpo Nta and the Director General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze.

 The Chairman of the House Committee on Police Affairs, Hon. Usman Bello-Kumo, who gave the ruling during public hearing on three bills aimed to enhance the operations of the Nigeria Police, said there was a need to meet with the agencies to ascertain why the directive of upward review of police remuneration had not been implemented.

Kumo who attributed the security challenges in the country to lack of synergy among agencies, said the government should do more in funding security agencies.

 He stressed the need to exclude the police from envelope budget system as well as address the pension issues bedeviling the security outfit.

 He added, “This is necessary to have a Police Force that is motivated to carry out its constitutional duties, especially in the wake of numerous security challenges facing the country and also in view of the fact that the country is headed for an election year.

“It is so pathetic that today in the country hoodlums and criminals are truly about to take over the entire security architecture of this country. It is not news and it is not something that is not in the public domain. The attack on the airport, the attack on our rail. All these are attributed to lack of synergy and intelligence sharing by security agencies.”

In his presentation, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, said the move by the National Assembly to amend the Police Act 2020, the Firearms Act as well as the Bill to enact the establishment of the Nigeria Police Intelligence Institute would deepen police reform and re-position the Force for optimal operational output.

 The IG who was represented by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Sanusi Lemu, however regretted that since the inception of the Force, it had never had a training institution with the requisite legal status that could drive the capacity development process of the Force at both the operational and strategic levels.

He said, “Policing all over the world is an intelligence driven enterprise. Unfortunately, although Nigeria Police is recognised as the lead agency in internal security, we are yet to nearly after 180 years of existence have a training institution with the requisite legal status that can drive the capacity development process of the Force at both the operational and strategic levels. “This is gap is even more impactful considering the current security realities in the country. This informed the establishment of the Police Intelligence Institute, Share.

“Unfortunately, despite the existence of the physical structures, the institution is yet to commence academic activities due largely to the absence of the requisite legal framework.

 “The Bill for an Act to establish the Nigeria Police Intelligence Institute is therefore critical to the take-off of this initiative as it would give legal backing to the reform agenda of the Police particularly in relation to the entrenchment of the professional culture of intelligence led policing and the development of the capacity of the officers of the Force and other sister agencies.

“The Bill also when enacted would professionalise the activities of the institution and give legal recognition to the programmes and certificates of the institute. In essence it should be seen as a further step to the current attempt to reform and re-position the police.”

Declaring the hearing open, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, said the bills were aimed empowering and strengthening the police for addressing lingering security challenges and other social vices currently bedeviling our nation.

Gbajabiamila, who was represented by the Deputy Leader, Hon. Peter Akpatason, said the House would do everything within its ambit to pass legislation that would address the security challenges in the country for the benefit of all Nigerians.

 He urged the police to synergise with sister agencies with a view to tackling the security challenges.