STRIKE ACTION IMMINENT IN NIGERIAN PRISON SERVICE – SOURCE

STRIKE IMMINENT IN NIGERIAN PRISON SERVICE

It is quite unfortunate that strike looms in the Nigerian prisons service (NPS). The spate of corruption in the organization this time around is alarming. This calls for an urgent attention. It is no longer hidden. Officers and men of the Nigerian prison are presently living with bottled up frustrations which may find expression in destructive violent behaviors. Some of the frustrations are here:

1. INCESSANT AND INDISCRIMINATE CUTTING OF OFFICERS SALARIES.

The truth remains that each month does not pass without deductions on officers salary. And those deductions do not have names. Nobody explains reasons behind such deductions. No officer can proudly and assuredly tell you he or she earns in a particular month. The most agonizing aspect of this development is that January being an incremental month witnessed a deduction of whopping sums of money from officers salary. Yet no reason was given. Payment slips are no longer accessible to staffs. The civil service rule is very clear on this issue ( It States that on no account should a dime be deducted from a worker’s salary without his or her consent) that it is called personal emolument. But this rule has been dumped in the trash can in Nigerian prisons.

2. NONE PAYMENT OF PROMOTION ARREARS SINCE 2013 TILL DATE.

Promotion arrears since year 2013 till are yet to be paid. Other sister organizations like Civil Defence, Federal Fire Service, the Immigration Service and others in the same ministry of interior have paid theirs. Nigerian prisons service is still yet to pay, keeping the staffs in perpetual poverty. Up till this moment, it has been uncoordinated stories or the other. When feeling that officers are getting worried and upset, the top ranking officer will request for particulars of the affected staffs and promotion lists, letters etc., which has become a recurring decimal. From all indications these promotions arrears have been embezzled by the Controller General with the consent of the minister and some top ranking officers who feels they can do anything and get away with it. The most annoying part of it, is that, some affected officers have either retired or died without been paid.

3. DELAYED AND WRONGFUL PLACEMENT.

It is unbelievable and appalling that officers and men of Nigerian prisons service who were promoted since 2013 to 2017 are yet to be placed. Some who were lucky to be placed, were wrongfully. For instance, some officers that supposed to be on level 08 step 10, is placed on level 08 step 01 and those who should be on 09 step 10 are placed on 09 step 01. All complaints fell on deaf ears. Staffs are promoted rank-wise and demoted Cash-wise. Most officers and men on compass 08 receive salaries of compass 07 while some on compass 09 receive 09 salary and so forth. The Account department play God. They don’t care to know how one feels about it, hence the issue continues.

4. CABALS IN THE ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT.

All the bad eggs in accounts department at Abuja National Headquarters who were transferred out have all fine they way back to the same department through backdoor bribery. They have come back to resume their “abracadabra”. The have the connivance of some corrupt superior OFFICERS in the dastardly act of stealing from other emolument and allowances. They meddle with salaries at all times. Personal emolument to them has turn to “General emolument” hence, cutting of other staffs salary means nothing to them.

5.PROMOTION RACKETEERING AT ABUJA.

A recent ugly development in the service is that promotion, upgrading, conversion are no longer on merits. They have been monetized. It is now common for one to see one’s junior in the service being promoted twice, thrice or more due bribe. This has led to juniors riding roughshod over their seniors. This, to a great extent, has killed discipline in the service.

6. INTRODUCTION OF OBNOXIOUS POLICIES.

Policies aimed at stifling officers opportunities for upgrading and conversion are being introduced by those who feels they have climbed the official ladder. Most of the top ranking officers went through the process of working – schooling, now that they have crossed, they destroyed the bridge that took them through so that others won’t cross. This is mind boggling. The recent policy that an officer must rise to the rank of Inspector before being qualified for upgrading remains a huge man’s inhumanity to man on earth, this colonial way of slavery still continues in Nigeria prisons service. It is most inhuman and unacceptable.

Every now and then, people will be recruited from outside while they collect huge amount of money as bribes ranging from N500,000 to N1000,000, but staffs with their relevant qualifications and experience on the job are been relegated the background. In this case, motivation is killed amongst officers and men of the service. They prefer bringing in people outside due to bribe money from those fresh recruits to fill in Senior ranks instead

They prefer bringing in people outside due to bribe money from those fresh recruits to fill in Senior ranks instead of pushing the existing staffs who have acquired the needed experience and qualification. This is frustrating.

7. ANGST.

Right now, there is a high level anger in and amongst officers and men of Nigerian Prisons Service. They have been stretched beyond elasticity. And as it stands now, they can no longer condone such idiosyncrasies. It is better to consent (Privatize) the service than leave it still on the Executive list at the detriment of the common man.

Report by Faith Ubani – 9News Nigeria