Ondo poll: 6,000 NSCDC personnel protest unpaid allowances

Personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps deployed for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State have complained over the alleged refusal of the authorities to pay their allowances, despite the election being held more than 10 days ago.

Six thousand NSCDC officers, including those from neighbouring states like Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Lagos, Edo, and Delta, were part of the security deployment for the election.

The aggrieved officers, some of whom spoke anonymously to The PUNCH on Monday, expressed frustration over the delay in receiving their allowances, especially since other security agencies, like the police, had already been paid.

They highlighted economic challenges in the country and described the delay as unnecessary.

One aggrieved personnel, who spoke anonymously to our correspondent, lamented that the delay in the allowance payment was uncalled for.

He said, “Those of us who participated in the Ondo election have not been paid till now. Our counterparts like the police have received theirs already. The economy is not friendly.”

Another NSCDC operative also dissatisfied with the delay simply asked, “Please help us ask the Commandant General why we are yet to be paid.”

In response to the complaints, NSCDC spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, stated that he had met with the Deputy Commandant General Operations and the General Commandant to address the issue.

According to Afolabi, the management informed him that the officers deployed for the Ondo election had already been paid their allowances on the field.

“I just met with the Deputy Commandant General Operations and the General Commandant over the issue. I learnt that the officers that were deployed for the Ondo election have been paid. They were paid on the field,” he said.