“We Protect The Presidency, But Who Cares About Our Families?” — 24 Police Officers Petition Tinubu Over Nine Months Of Unpaid Allowances, Allege Unequal Treatment
By Passman Akpos
Twenty-four personnel of the Police Mobile Force (PMF), attached to the Press Escorts Unit at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, have appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene over the alleged non-payment of their allowances for nine consecutive months.
The affected officers, who reportedly perform the same official duties as other personnel receiving the allowances, said they had been excluded from the payments despite continuing to discharge their responsibilities at the seat of Nigeria’s presidency.
In a petition addressed to President Tinubu at the Office of the President, the aggrieved personnel described their situation as increasingly unbearable, disclosing that the prolonged non-payment had subjected them and their families to serious financial difficulties.
According to the petitioners, the affected officers have families, children and relatives who depend on their earnings for survival, but the outstanding allowances have made it increasingly difficult to meet their basic financial obligations.
They specifically identified transportation expenses to work and house rent as some of the challenges they are currently facing, explaining that they ordinarily depended on the allowances to meet those responsibilities.
The officers expressed concern that while some of their colleagues performing similar assignments reportedly continue to receive the allowances, the 24 affected personnel have allegedly gone without payment for nine months.
In their appeal, they stated:
“We are here to write on behalf of some 24 PMF personnel, Press Escorts Villa, Abuja. We have not received allowance for the past nine months, which some of our colleagues are collecting, and we did the same work.”
The petitioners further lamented the hardship the situation had imposed on their households, stressing that their responsibilities as family breadwinners had not diminished despite the alleged withholding of their allowances.
“We have families, relatives and children to take care of, but no allowance for a period of nine months. We are suffering, paying transportation to work and paying for house rent, which we depend on the allowance to do,” they stated.
The affected personnel appealed directly to President Tinubu and the Federal Government to investigate their complaint and ensure that all outstanding payments are released without further delay.
“We are pleading with the government to consider our complaint and pay us our outstanding nine months’ allowance,” the petitioners added.
The development raises questions about the administration of personnel allowances, payment procedures and the welfare of officers deployed to sensitive assignments within the Presidential Villa.
If the allegations are established, the reported disparity between personnel performing similar duties would also warrant clarification from the relevant authorities.
As of the information contained in the petition, no official explanation has been provided regarding why the 24 personnel were allegedly excluded from the allowance payments or when their outstanding entitlements would be settled.
The affected officers are now looking to President Tinubu for intervention, insisting that they deserve the allowances attached to their assignments and should not continue to shoulder the financial consequences of the alleged payment delays.
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