Retired officers of the Nigeria Police Force on Tuesday protested at the Oyo State Police Headquarters, Eleyele Ibadan.
The embattled retired officers decried the poor pension payments under the Contributory Pension Scheme managed by the National Pension Commission.
Displaying placards with various inscriptions, the retirees implored President Bola Tinubu to approve a bill seeking the removal of police personnel from the scheme and the establishment of a separate pension board for the force.
A retired Superintendent of Police, Joseph Alabi, lamented many former officers had been struggling to survive due to what he termed inadequate monthly pensions.
“We have been on this issue for over two two years now.Retired Nigerian police officers are suffering. As a retired SP, I go home with about N70,000 monthly. Is that for feeding or taking care of my family?”
He picked holes in the continued inclusion of police personnel in the contributory pension scheme, noting that other security agencies had been exempted.
According to him, the retirees’ request was for the President to assent to a bill already passed by the National Assembly, which would allow the police to exit the scheme and establish a dedicated pension structure.
He added:“All we are asking is for the President to assent to the bill so that we can be pulled out of PENCOM and have a system that will cater for us and those still in service.”
Another protester, retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, Saludeen Omotayo, company that his retirement benefits were meagre.
“How can someone serve for 35 years and be given about N1.5m or N2m? We are not being paid well. We are suffering,” he said, appealing to Nigerians to support their cause.
He disclosed that many retirees were facing hardship and could no longer meet basic needs.
He said:“We are hungry. We are dying. Nigerians should help us appeal to the government.”
Also speaking, a retired electrical engineer, Babatunde Oluwatoye, joined the protest in solidarity, and described the situation as disturbing and called on the Federal Government to act swiftly.
“I never believed this was happening until I heard from a retired police officer. After 35 years, you are giving someone less than N2m. What can that do?”, he said.
He linked the welfare of police personnel to national security, cautioning that poor treatment of retired officers could affect the morale of those still in service.
