All personnel of the Nigeria Police Force nationwide are yet to be paid their November salaries owing to a delay by the Federal Ministry of Finance, FIJ can exclusively report.

This was contained in an internal message Usman Baba Alkali, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), transmitted to all Commissioners of Police and Assistant Inspectors-General of Police in charge of zones on November 3. 

“Information received from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) unit of Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) indicates delay in the processing of funds from the Federal Ministry of Finance for payment of November 2021 salaries, which implies that there will be a delay in payment of November 2021,” the IGP noted.

Alkali also said that frantic efforts were being made to minimise the delay.

However, a source told FIJ that this was not the first time police officers were experiencing salary delay.

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“Our salaries were delayed in August and September,” the source told FIJ. “In fact, most officers noticed unexplainable salary deductions of as low as N2,000 and N5,000.”

In March, FIJ reported that the police deducted the sum of N432 million from 6,000 Constables recruited in 2018.

Like the police, many public officers, such as those in the education and medical professions, often complain about the delay and overbearing salary cuts, but the Nigerian government insists that the IPPIS project has saved the government billions of naira by eliminating thousands of ghost workers since its inception in 2007.

Meanwhile, FIJ understands that some officers of the Nigeria Police Force earn as little as N10,000. In November, Mohammed Dingyadi, Minister of Police Affairs, said that a new salary package was underway for police officers. 

He disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Salaries and Wages Commission to work out the package and submit it to the government for consideration.