Fire Service personnel yet to get September salary

Personnel of the Federal Fire Service (FFS) are yet to receive their September, 2020 salary 13 days into October.

Daily Trust gathered that the salary payment delay is affecting many other agencies of the government.

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Personnel of FFS normally get their salary alerts between 28th and 31st of each month.

Men and officers of the Service, who spoke to Daily Trust, said management was yet to inform staff on the reason for the delay.

One of the officers said: “It is so painful that there is no any official communication concerning this delay and when we should expect our salary.

“With things so hard in the country at the moment, feeding my family is so hard right now let alone returning my children to school.

“I have four children in school but they can’t resume like their mates because there is no money to buy all they need to resume.”

A junior staff of the FFS said she had been borrowing to pay transport fares to the office since the start of the month.

“I don’t even have money for transport.

“I borrow money from friends to pay my transport fares to and from the office since the start of October.

“This has not happened before, that is why most of us were caught unaware,” she said.

Daily Trust’s checks revealed that personnel of other agencies under the purview of the Ministry of Interior – Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigerian Correctional Service and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps – have all received their September, 2020, salaries.

However, the spokesperson of the FFS, Huan Ugo, told Daily Trust that the development was not a regular occurrence in the Service.

“I think this is the first time a situation of this nature would happen in Federal Fire Service.

“Hopefully, it will be resolved this week and personnel will receive their salaries,” she said.

When asked to disclose the reason for the delay, she promised to find out and get back to our reporter.

She didn’t get back to the reporter as at the time of filing this report.

However, an internal circular from the management of Energy Commission of Nigeria to its staff with the subject: “Explanation on the delay of payment of September, 2020 salary”, dated 5th October, 2020, said the salary was not paid yet as a result of insufficient fund in the commission’s 2020 Personnel budgetary allocation.

The circular, signed by Cletus Nnah, Director of Finance and Accounts, went further to assure staff that the Commission was working with the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation as well as the Ministry of Finance to obtain authority to incur expenditure for payment of outstanding salaries for the year 2020.

But when contacted, the Director of Press and Public Relations of the Ministry of Interior, Mohamed Manga, told our reporter that the salary payment delay in the FFS was not as a result of insufficient fund in the Ministry’s 2020 Personnel budgetary allocation.

He claimed the delay was caused by the demerger of the Police Force from the Ministry of Interior.

He disclosed that the issue was being handled already by the IPPS unit of the budget office.