The men and women serving Nigeria in the police will get a boost in their personal earnings as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday granted approval for a 20 percent upward salary review for the Nigeria Police Force, which will commence from January 2022.
The council, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also approved the review of police duty tour allowance to six percent, a tax waiver of N18.6 billion for junior officers, while the sum of N1.2 billion was okayed for the payment of outstanding allowances.
Also approved by FEC is the sum of N1.2 billion for the payment of uninsured benefits.
Maigari Dingyadi, the minister of police affairs, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen at the end of the virtual council meeting.
According to Dingyadi, the increased police personnel take-home pay by 20 percent of their present earnings was one of the ways to improve the relationship between the force and the Nigerian populace.
The minister also noted that the approval was in consonance with President Buhari’s promise to enhance police personnel pay as demanded by #EndSARS protesters in 2020.
Dingyadi also disclosed that the sum of N13.128 billion was approved for outstanding death benefits for 5,472 police personnel.
Responding to the development, Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, remarked that the new salary structure has not been provided for in the 2022 budget and her ministry will await the outcome of the verification of the various computations from Adolphus Aghughu the auditor general of the federation.
She also explained that the government would need to raise a supplementary budget to be sent to the National Assembly for passage for the new payment structure to be implemented.
