Aso Rock Crisis – Everything may not be well at the Presidential Villa, considering workers dying in silence over the non-payment of their special monthly allowance known to as the Risk Cautious Allowance, that has been on hold since President Muhammadu Buhari started office in May, 2015.
PUNCH confirmed that since the coming of President Buhari’s administration, security agents have continued to receive failed promises made to them against what was experienced under former President, Goodluck Jonathan.
In the past, senior officers were said to be receiving about N30,000 per month as their special allowance, while junior officers got about N25,000.
The security officers include those of the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services, the Nigerian Intelligence Agency, the Federal Road Safety Commission and the Fire Service, among others.
Narrating their current ordeal, the security officers spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday, to condemn the increase in security measures that further tasked them daily without payment to meet their various financial obligations.
The current harsh economic situation being experienced in the country, the increase in transport fares, makes life difficult for the men, forcing some policemen to convert their beats to their temporary homes.
“It is not easy! We can no longer cope with the increase in transport fare. Policemen are now passing the night at their beats. In the evening, you can go to Gate 4 and 5 among other spots in the Villa to confirm this,” a Policeman said.
“I could not pay the school fee of my daughter last term. Another term is starting soon. Most of us are junior officers with less than N50,000 as salary. We always augment our salary with this small allowance but they have denied us of it,” Another Soldier lamented
nother security agent said instead of being addressed by the authorities, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Babagana Monguno, directed all operatives in the Presidential Villa to fill some forms running into about five pages.
According to him, heads of about two security agencies who were not satisfied with the arrangement ordered their men to ignore the forms.
“Even if the idea was to ascertain that we are truly working in the Villa, I believe that photocopies of our identity tags should be enough for the exercise?
“How can the NSA ask that we should be filling forms that run into about five pages and yet, there is still nothing to show for it?
“If the Permanent Secretary of the State House can collect our account details and he paid N15,000 to us in lieu of Easter rice and other items within two weeks, what is delaying the NSA from paying our allowance?
“These are people who keep introducing new security measures to be implemented by disgruntled officers.
Today, they will ask us to thoroughly search all vehicles coming in, tomorrow they will ask us to ensure that everybody fills access forms.”
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