The aggrieved retirees on Monday protested against what they termed as
unfair treatment by the government.
Retirees of the Nigeria Police Force under the contributory pension
scheme in Cross River State have petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari
rejecting the programme.
The aggrieved retirees on Monday protested against what they termed as
unfair treatment by the government.
Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, the chairman of the retirees,
Christopher Effiong, claimed that the National Pension Commission and
the police high command “have bluntly refused to see to the welfare of
police retirees".
Another issue raised in the petition is the “refusal of policymakers
who strictly adopted the exemption provisions for military and secret
police but ignored to follow suit the implementation of the future
commencement to exempt those who had been in service already under the
defined benefits scheme before the enactment of the Pension Reform Act
2004 Law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria".
The petition also expressed disappointment over the failure of the
policymakers to domesticate the law to exempt the Nigeria Police
Force, which is the leading agency in internal security in Nigeria".
Effiong said: “The amount of money paid to retired police officers as
a lump sum and monthly pension, portrays an act of a calculated and
silent homicide against police retirees who have spent their youthful
energy to serve this country under hazardous conditions.
"A superintendent of police is paid N800 million as a lump sum after
35 years, and N45,000 monthly as pension while an army major or a DSS
equivalent collects N10 million as gratuity and a monthly pension of
about N200,000.”
“The reality in Nigeria is that the police suffer the highest death
toll as the leading internal security agency in this country and
should not be treated with this level of neglect and disdain.
“This treatment is already affecting the morale of some serving
members, and scores of our retirees die every year, as they can not
raise money to buy drugs or feed their families.”