Retired Officers Urge Tinubu to Approve Police Exit from Pension Scheme.
By Adewale Owoade.
Retired officers of the Nigeria Police Force has staged a protest at the Oyo State Police Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, over what they described as poor pension payments under the Contributory Pension Scheme managed by the National Pension Commission (PENCOM).
The protesters, mainly retired senior officers, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to assent to a bill already passed by the National Assembly, which would enable the police to withdraw from the scheme and establish a separate pension structure.
They argued that the continued inclusion of police personnel in the contributory pension scheme was unjust, noting that other security agencies had been exempted.
Speaking during the protest, a retired Superintendent of Police, Joseph Alabi, lamented the hardship faced by former officers, describing their monthly pensions as “meagre.”
“For over two years now, we have been on this issue. Retired Nigerian police officers are suffering.
“All we are asking is for the President to assent to the bill so that we can exit PENCOM and have a system that caters for both retirees and serving officers.
“Air Force, Navy, military and other agencies have been removed from this scheme, but the police are still there. That is unfair,” he said.
Another protester, retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, Omotayo Saludeen, who served for 35 years, decried the inadequacy of retirement benefits.
“How can someone serve for 35 years and receive about N1.5 million or N2 million? We are not being paid well. We are suffering.
“We are hungry and dying. Nigerians should help us appeal to the government,” she said.
The Ibadan protest is part of a nationwide agitation, with similar demonstrations reported in Abuja and other parts of the country.
The retirees vowed to continue their protests until their demands are addressed.