The Nigeria Association of Retired Civil Defence Officers (NARCDO) has said that the financial lives of its members is better imagined than experienced.
The President of the Association, Ewurum Chidi revealed this during the inauguration of the Association and the Commissioning of its Office Complex in Abuja.
This was contained in a Statement by the Director of Public Relations, CC Olusola Odumosu in Abuja
Describing the challenges confronting the retirees as hydra-headed, Ewurum called for an Octopus legged solution” in addressing some of these excruciating challenges which see them die in drones after retirement.
He advised that proffering solutions to these challenges will bring an end to the difficulties experienced by most retirees.
Ewurum spelt out these challenges to include among others: “Non-payment of gratuity, pension and other statutory allowance due to them.
“Non-implementation of the proposed conditions of service to retired Civil Defence Officers now languishing under very excruciating harsh economic conditions to the extent that visiting Abuja to transact any business is a problem.
“Appointment of Retired Officers into strategic positions in Government, Boards and Committee as is the case with other Security Agencies in Nigeria just to mention but a few,” the NARCDO President narrated.
While he admitted that these challenges aren’t peculiar to NARDCO alone but to the generality of the Corps, the Deputy Commandant General (rtd), urged the Federal Government to appoint outstanding retired officers into strategic positions of government.
Inaugurating the Complex, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Shuaibu Belgore, commended the NSCDC Commandant General for his transformation efforts in the agency towards having a motivated workforce to tackle emerging security challenges in the country.
The Minister said that the establishment of the association was of great disposition which will help the affairs of the Corps.
Aregbesola further added that the Federal Government will continuously support the growth of Corps, adding that it had recently inaugurated new NSCDC Commands in Jos, Keffi and Sokoto.
The NSCDC Commandant General, Ahmed Audi explained that the drive to provide succour to the NSCDC retirees prompted the establishment of NARDCO and its office complex.
“Having this Association is a way of encouraging them just like other organisations because we have noticed that some of them live in agony and want, while others have been neglected, which shouldn’t be the case,” he said.
Audi said that the operations of the Association will give room for collaborations with financial institutions which will help bring it to a level of competition with other associations.
Aside from the NARDCO and its National Secretariat, the Minister also inaugurated the newly reconstructed NSCDC parade ground, two units of two bedrooms, one unit of one bedroom flats at the Corps Headquarters in Abuja.
