Rumblings in Osun NSCDC as officials protest receiving N10,000 instead of N100,000 for election duties

Apart from different ongoing Court cases against the outcome of the 2023 general elections by different political parties and gladiators, election funding and administrative brouhaha also surfaced within the Security operatives used for the successful conduct of the general elections across Nigeria. Part of those issues came into limelight at the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps N-S-C-D-C where officials employed in 2019 decry the payment of N10,000 instead of N100,000 as an allowance for election duty.

It could be recalled that the Osun governorship election was held on July 16, 2022, while the presidential and National Assembly elections were held on February 25, 2023. Likewise, elections for the state assembly were held on April 18, 2023.

An official with the NSCDC claimed that other security officials received an allowance payment of N40,000 following the Osun 2022 gubernatorial election, but we (the 2019 intakes) did not.

A screenshot of the N10,000 credit alert of the said allowance for election duty

“We asked for the allowance, but the N-S-C-D-C leadership ignored us. For the presidential/national Assembly elections and state assembly elections, N60,000 was evenly distributed to other security personnel, but we did not receive a single kobo.

According to a somewhat dejected N-S-C-D-C employee, the overall allowance package for the election is worth N100,000.

The angry N-S-C-D-C official revealed that it was horribly startling and repulsive when they received the sum of N10,000 as allowance for the full election duty instead of N100,000. He forwarded screenshots to this reporter that showed the payment of N10,000 for election duty.

Another screenshot of the credit alert of N10,000 as allowance for election duty

‘At first I assumed it was a mistake. I had to count how many zeros there were. I later phoned a buddy who also happens to be a coworker to confirm my shock, but I was taken aback when he revealed that he had also earned N10,000 as an allowance for election duty, he added.

Another official, Seun (not his real name), alleged that senior members of the organization were siphoning and diverting money intended for the junior cadets, and he questioned whether they would take all of these material possessions to paradise.

Seun (not his real name) condemned the act as inhumane, immoral, and a lack of compassion for the underprivileged while urging top NSCDC officials to act morally for the good of humanity.

We must first consider how we would feel if the same were done to us before engaging in wickedness. God will punish those who steal money intended for others in order to enrich themselves. In a voice message made accessible to this reporter, a fairly dejected official remarked, “We remain consoled that even if they embezzle all the funds, they can’t be richer than Dangote.”

Another official stated that it is a terrible deception and an outright affront to our sensitivities that some people believe the initial cash was cut to N10,000 so that it could reach every official.

It is preferable than them not paying us again. Due to agreements made with other security companies, we had forgotten about the allowance. When I first received the N10,000 notice, I was laughing. A female official swore at those who had approved the payment of the N10,000 sum and added, “In fact, I am tired of the whole situation.”

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps N-S-C-D-C is home to the most corruption, according to a second official who did not want his name to appear in the newspaper, because their superiors lack moral fiber and integrity.

While denouncing the conduct, he described how they applied for a certain assignment in Kano State where they were supposed to receive N50,000 each official but only received N5,000 instead.

Another official, who requested anonymity for fear of harassment or intimidation, lamented the rising level of corruption in the government and questioned whether there could possibly be a law enforcement agency that should be enforcing the law. If there were, he said, the entire nation would perish.

He pleaded with the Rauf Aregbesola-led interior ministry to look into the situation and restore confidence in the agency’s officers.

In a phone interview with WITHIN NIGERIA, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps N-S-C-D-C Osun Command, Adeleke Kehinde, revealed that every officer who participated in the election has received their allowance for election duties.

Kehinde continued by saying that the allowance paid to each officer was more than N10,000. It was more than that, according to Osun, N-S-C-D-C PPRO, who instructed WITHIN NIGERIA to get in touch with the NSCDC’s director of public relations to learn more about the situation.

Olusola Odumosu, the director of public relations for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps N-S-C-D-C, could not be reached for comment at the time this article was filed.

WITHIN NIGERIA MEDIA