Retired police officers in Edo State on Monday took to the streets in solidarity with colleagues across Nigeria to express deep frustration over what they described as the inhumane conditions imposed by the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Describing the scheme as a “killer policy,” the retirees said it has driven many of them into abject poverty and needless hardship.
Operating under the umbrella of the National Association of Retired Police Officers Contributory Pension Scheme the aggrieved officers also addressed a press conference in Benin City, urging the Federal Government to urgently intervene.
Leading the protest, State Chairman of NARPO-CPS, SP Anthony Nnachor (rtd), painted a grim picture of their post-service lives, noting that many officers who served the nation for over 30 years now struggle to meet their basic needs.
“We are here to let the world know the hardship we are passing through.
“Some of us receive as little as N25,000 or N30,000 monthly, even retired Commissioners of Police are not spared.
“Many of our colleagues are dying daily due to lack of money for basic healthcare,” he said.
Nnachor made a passionate appeal to President Bola Tinubu to remove retired police officers from the scheme, which, according to him, has failed to provide economic security since its inception in 2004.
“Under the scheme, we contribute 7 per cent and the Federal Government adds 8 percent. At retirement, they calculate a lump sum and give you only 25 per cent of your life savings.
“If you contributed N10 million, they may give you just N2 million, and spread the rest across monthly payments that leave you in penury,” he explained.
The protesting officers labelled the scheme exploitative and called for their immediate transfer to the Defined Benefit Scheme, which currently benefits retired personnel of the Nigerian military.
The association’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Johnson Oyameda, echoed the same sentiments, criticizing the current pension arrangement as fundamentally flawed.
“We want to be placed under the DBS like our counterparts in the armed forces.
“We’re appealing to the National Assembly to pass the bill removing us from the contributory scheme.
“Despite multiple public hearings, the harmonisation of the bill is still being delayed,” Oyameda said.
He further urged the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to champion their cause and expedite their transition into the DBS.
The retirees stated that despite years of protests and appeals since 2019, their calls have largely gone unheeded.
They now hope that President Tinubu will break the silence and bring about long-awaited pension reform for retired police officers.
