Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has said that policemen in the rank and file of the Nigeria Police Force are ready to down tools on July 21 in protest against their poor remuneration.
Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), stated this as a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday.
According to him, the affected policemen, whose salaries made them as good as unemployed, picked the date for the protest.
“And our proposal, which a lot of them are considering, is to withdraw their services, especially from the big men who are supposed to make this decision.
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“If the IG of police finds out on July 21 that he wants to go to work and there are no policemen to drive him or carry a gun and follow him, he will think twice and know that these people are serious,” he said.
Sowore explained that, “The mistake the police authorities are making at the highest level is that they think this is for retired officers. No. The people that are actually agitating the most, the people that are ready to act and down tools on July 21, followed by another group planning for August 1, by the way, are mostly serving policemen, and they are ready.
“Most of them have said this, and I believe it, that what they are being paid now is as good as being unemployed, considering the amount of risk they take. I mean, how do you serve for 35 years and your pension is ₦35,000 at the end of the month? What do you do with it? Buy a recharge card with it?”
He also called for an upward review of the welfare and remuneration of the rank and file of the Nigeria Police Force.
Sowore asked, “How do you serve a country for 35 years and your monthly salary is, highest, ₦57,000, maybe ₦140,000, depending on your rank? How do you survive in a country where the inflation rate is at 24 per cent, where you have to pay the school fees of your children, and where you have to treat your children if they are sick?”
He urged Nigerians, especially celebrity entertainers, who he said enjoy the protection of the affected policemen, to support the protest.
