Written By Dedeigbo Ayodeji
Posted By Admin
Contrary to the bill in the Federal House of Representatives praying that the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) should be scrapped, the Director of Public Affairs, NSCDC, DCC Olusola Odumosu has boldly affirmed the unique functions that the paramilitary agency plays in national development. These roles are clearly distinct from those of Nigeria Police, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Correctional Service among others. They are, more importantly, pivotal to the security and prosperity of the country. Thus, NSCDC should neither be scrapped nor joined to another security agency.
Definitively speaking, DCC Olusola Odumosu said: ‘Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps performs very unique functions different from the Nigeria Police in clear terms’ in reaction to the bill which called for NSCDC to be merged with the Nigeria Police.
He espoused further, ‘We are the lead agency in the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure. Secondly, NSCDC regulates, monitor, supervise and license the Private guard companies as approved by the Honorable Minister of Interior.’
DCC Odumosu added: ‘The Corps is a front agency in disaster management, rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of natural or manmade disasters among other ad hoc assignments such as the Agro Rangers which was established to protect all Agro allied investments and to avert farmers/herders clashes and settle disputes amongst them amicably through the use of alternative dispute resolution’ during a virtual Twitter chat monitored by Media Team from the National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP yesterday.
‘The NSCDC is a grassroot organization with offices in 774 Local Government Areas of the country and the youth forms the bulk of entire staff strength’, he told the global audience during the special edition of Reminisense the TweetChat series hosted by the Editor of Trek Africa Newspaper, Abayomi Oyelami. The Twitter chat regularly holds every Tuesday.
On how youths can join the excellent Corps, the Director of Public Affairs said that volunteerism is no longer allowed. ‘The NSCDC ACT 2003 which was accented to by Former President Olusegun Obasanjo thereby turning the Corps into a full fledged paramilitary organization ended the era of volunteerism. Any Nigerian youth willing to join the Corps should apply anytime the recruitment portal is opened again and follow the necessary guidelines.’
‘Besides, our amiable Commandant General Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, mni, is a lover of youth. He’s just concluding the 2019 recruitment exercise to pave way for more youths to come into the Corps through a transparent precess.’
Applauding the grand achievements of Commandant-General Dr. Abubakar Ahmed Audi, mni who was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR on World Civil Defence Day 2021, DCC Odumosu recounted: ‘Between year 2021 when he came on board and now, the Corps has made several arrests and prosecutions while a lot of convictions have been recorded especially in our renewed onslaught on vandals, oil thieves etc to stamp out nefarious activities of criminal elements involved.’
‘In less than a year, the Private Guard Company Department of the Corps has renewed 752 licences, sealed 81 erring companies, trained about 4,653 guards and generated about N587,923,000.00 to the coffers of Government’, he added.
On staff welfare, Odumosu added: ‘Under one year Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi has rejiged, revamp, rejuvenate, restructure and reposition the NSCDC by boosting the morale of personnel through a robust staff welfare scheme. He sanitized the promotion process and dismantled all road blocks by ensuring that officers and men stagnated for many years are promoted.’
‘Dr Audi ensured payment of backlog of Group Life Insurance benefits acruable since 2013 for personnel who sustained different degrees of accident in the cause of their job and death benefits for families of dead officers and men.’
‘Only yesterday, the CG handed over keys of two bedroom houses of the NSCDC Cooperative society to officers and men of the Corps and laid the foundation for another phase of 3 bedroom houses. The achievements are too numerous to mention’, the NSCDC Director of Public Affairs concluded the special edition of Reminisense the TweetChat series which held in commemoration of World Civil Defence Day 2022.
