BAYELSA COMMUNITY SAFETY CORPS MEMBERS GROANS, CALLS ON GOV. DIRI TO CONFIRM EMPLOYMENT AND IMPLEMENT SALARIES, BENEFITS DUE TO THEM
Despite the successful passage of the bill establishing the Bayelsa State Community Safety Corps passed by the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and consequently signed into law by Governor Douye Diri on December 2021, the Prosperity Government is yet to implement the stipulated laws guiding it’s establishment, specifically in constitution of directorates, employment of members and implementation of salaries, benefits.
The Community Safety Corps bill streamlines the operations of the state’s security outfit ‘Operation Doo-Akpo’, the Bayelsa State Volunteers and the Bayelsa Vigilante into an umbrella body having different directorates under one coordinated leadership, but the reality on ground is in contravention from what the law states.
While there are reports making round that the Governor had employed about six hundred Bayelsans into the corps, these intakes were only temporary absorbed, documented on meagre monthly allowance and placed on probation with promise of employment if the present administration continues beyond February 2024, an action now seen by many Bayelsans as a smokescreen for the purpose of winning elections.
Some of the temporary intakes have already started venting their anger and dumping the corps as they begin to ask pertinent questions.
- When does Provisional acceptance letter represents temporary or permanent employment letter?
- Which Government Pensionable job pays both graduate and undergraduate in Nigeria and beyond the same amount of money called allowance in the sum of 50,000 naira monthly? Or are our graduates certificates now useless whereas their counterparts in Paramilitary earns above #100,000 as graduates?
- Even after their three months plus probation(100 days) which ended in May 31st, no further appointment or confirmation letter has been issued, when will they?
- Even when they went into three months training which included arms training, no allowance was paid after except a paltry sum of 20,000 naira for their transport back home after leaving their families for over 73 days amidst debts they had acrued in buying their kits for going into the camp.
- Most of them are still indebted till now and these are our fellow Bayelsans, what are their fates?
- How can trained indigenes whose lives are exposed to death and other injurious treatments anytime in the line of duty have no acess to BHIS , Insurance , Salaries or other Benefits other than 50,000 naira monthly allowance?. How much is one of the pump action they carry? Or don’t their lives matters ? These are Bayelsans with families .
As the corp members groan, they are appealing to the governor to put into effect the laws establishing the bill and to also keep to his promises adding that it will boost the morale of corp members and intensify security efforts.
We must keep politics aside and put the wellbeing of our youths first by joining this agitation to provide better life for our people, this is not about the interest of any political party, if it was, some of us would not lend our voices because investigations showed that most of these intakes were handpicked by PDP leaders and constituency representatives loyal to the present administration, why then would loyal and dedicated party men be treated with such cruelty?, and why would concerned Bayelsans keep mum and watch as our youths are denied of what is due to them?.
Security is everyone’s business, Bayelsa belongs to us all.
© Bodmas Prince Kemepadei
VTMONEY
First Bank
