By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Socialist Party of Nigeria, (SPN) has declared that men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force deserve better living and working conditions of service
In a statement by its acting National Chairperson, Comrade Abiodun Bamigboye and National Secretary, Comrade Chinedu Bosah, SPN said the working and living conditions of men and officers of the Nigeria Police are terrible, saying, ” to say the least, the wage is nothing to write home about and many security operatives are condemned to misery.”
According to the party, there is the urgent need for an improvement in the living and working conditions of the ordinary police officers and that it should include living wage and the right to form and belong to a trade union by the rank and file police officers.
” The Socialist Party of Nigeria, (SPN) supports the demand for an improvement in the living and working conditions of the ordinary police officers and adds that it should include living wage and the right to form and belong to a trade union by the rank and file police officers. The working conditions of the rank and file policemen and women are terrible, to say the least, the wage is nothing to write home about and many security operatives are condemned to misery.” it said
The body added, “SPN condemns the precarious working condition under which the lower rank of the Nigeria policemen and women presently groan. This include the policy wherein an average policemen and women earn less than N60,000. “
” This amount which is ridiculously less than the cost of 2 bags of rice and 75 litres of diesel is not acceptable especially in an economy that has experienced hyperinflation and 100% hike in electricity tariff Unfortunately. it is the condemnation of the vast majority of policemen and women to abject poverty and misery with arms in their hands and the lack of democratic control of the police force that is partly responsible for the extortion and sometimes brutality of the poor masses in the hands of some notorious policemen and women.”
Lamenting that after the ENDSARS mass protest, the Federal government promised to increase the wage of Policemen and women by 20%, SPN said, ” the government is yet to implement it, whereas, the same government keeps awarding jumbo salaries and perks to top political office holders in the executive and legislators running to hundreds of billions of Naira annually”.
” SPN once again reiterates its support to any action or agitation for improvement in the working and living condition of rank and file policemen and women. We hereby demand a new minimum monthly wage and pension of N100, 000 for workers, pensioners, police and the military and for the reduction of jumbo salaries and allowances of political office holders to the wage of skilled workers”.
Part of the statement reads, ” Besides, about 15,000 privileged political office holders earn over N1.5 trillion annually in emoluments and perks while workers are condemned to poverty wage. The unfair wage discrepancy between the privileged elite who do so little and preoccupy themselves with stealing our collective resources and exploitation, and Nigerian workers who create wealth shows the obvious class inequality, criminality and anti-people character of Buhari’s capitalist regime.
” SPN once again reiterates its support to any action or agitation for improvement in the working and living condition of rank and file policemen and women. We hereby demand a new minimum monthly wage and pension of N100, 000 for workers, pensioners, police and the military and for the reduction of jumbo salaries and allowances of political office holders to the wage of skilled workers. We call on the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to mobilize Nigerian workers in a sustained struggle to actualize a new N100,000 minimum wage and pension and the reduction of wage of political office-holders. This new minimum wage and pension must be configured to be increased at the same rate of inflation so that wage does not lose its value in future.
