By Muhammad Tanko Shittu – Many personnel of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, are in subdued protest against an alleged career stagnation and lopsided promotion in the Agency, DAILY NIGERIAN gathered.
NDLEA is a federal government agency saddled with the task of eradicating drugs abuse, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substance within the country.
Headquartered in Abuja, the agency has offices and commands in all the states of the federation.
Like any other government agency, NDLEA has laws guiding the promotion of its officers.
According to its 2019 Condition of Service document, NDLEA personnel on Compass 03-06 are eligible for promotion within the minimum period of two years, while those on compass 07-14 are eligible for promotion within a minimum of three years, and so on.
However, many personnel of the agency are crying foul non-promotion with some saying that they had been stagnating at one rank for the past 12 years.
Prompted by these disgruntlement, on assumption into office, the present Director-General of the Agency, Buba Marwa, a retired brigadier-general, had set up a special committee headed by retired Colonel Yakubu Bako to investigate these cries and hues.
According to an insider source within the agency, the committee did nothing but a shabby job.
“Sadly, the committee derailed from its mandate, and what it produced is nothing but a sham,” the source lamented.
He added that there were glaring inconsistencies and contradiction that betrayed the objectivity of the entire process of the committee’s work and reports to their boss.
“The invocation of Federal Character in promotion of Chief Superintendent of Narcotics (CSN) GL.13 to Assistant Commander of Narcotics (ACN) GL 14, which, hitherto, has never been the case and this favoured a particular geo-political zone.
“Promotion of some personnel that have been pegged to the next rank ahead of those that have not been pegged.
“As a matter of facts some have been even awarded double promotion, i.e from Superintendent of Narcotics (SN) GL 12 to (ACN),” the source alleged.
On the alleged lopsided promotions, the source further said some personnel were promoted ahead of their seniors.
While citing example of the irregularity, the staffer said some Narcotic Assistants (NA) GL 05 were promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics II (ASN II) GL 08, leaving out those on the rank of Senior Narcotics Agents (SNA) GL 06 without any promotion.
This development, according to the officer, will breed indiscipline in the agency.
“There are those that have passed their conversion exams in 2010 and ought to have been on the rank of SN but left at Deputy Superintendent of Narcotics (DSN) GL 10, effectively losing a rank,” the source alleged.
The aggrieved staff said some with lower entry qualifications were given more preference over those with higher certificates.
“For instance, there are those who have University National Diploma whose entry rank was Senior Narcotic Agent (SNA), that have been promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics II (ASN II) GL 08 and some others to Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics I (ASNI) GL 09, while those with more relevant diploma, i.e Polytechnic ND were left out,” he said.
But the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Thursday, dismissed the allegations, saying that 75 per cent of the workforce was promoted at once in June 2021.
According to him, the exercise was the highest in any single exercise since the establishment of the NDLEA more than three decades ago.
Mr Babafemi said: “It is an established norm that promotions are not only based on qualifications, but also on vacancies.
“No law enforcement organisation can elevate all its staff members at a go considering such criteria as rank structure that is based on vacancies; only a specific number can be promoted to some vacant positions even if all are qualified, and that’s why there can only be one state commander in a state command.
“At the highest level in the agency, where we have nine Deputy Commanders General of Narcotics and 25 Assistant Commanders General of Narcotics, these positions were not only spread along geo-political zonal considerations, but religious balance.”
