280 retired police personnel in South South Nigeria have
ccused police authorities of treating them like slaves and robbing them of
their correct pension entitlements.
They raised the allegations during a session with the
Director General of Pension Commission, PENCOM, Omolola Oloworaran, who
President Bola Tinubu had sent to address their growing grievances.
At least 280 of them from all parts of the South-South
states converged in Calabar yesterday and vehemently reeled out their plights,
insisting that they should be taken out of the Contrulibutory Pension Scheme,
CPS, and moved to Defined Benefit Scheme.
They pointed accusing fingers at certain serving and retired
senior police officers alleging that they were responsible for not implementing
their correct dues.
According to the pensioners, the earnings of those in the
military as well as in the DSS are better compared to many of them who receive
a paltry N18,000 or N20,000 as against their counterparts of the same ranking
in the military, receiving as much as N400,000 and above
The National Legal Officer of Police Retirees Association,
Ofem Mbang, who spoke on their behalf “There is no amount of improvement under
CPS that will come that will satisfy us. We don’t want palliative because it
comes and goes.
“We want a permanent structure which is pexit from the
Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and the establishment of the Police Pension
Board.
“A military man, a WO1, which is an equivalent of an
Inspector in the police goes home with about N200,b000 but and Inspector goes
home with about N18,000 to N19,000.
“A retired DSP gets N35,000 to N40,000. A retired
Commissioner of Police, an equivalent of Major General in the army goes home
with N70,000 while a retired Major General gets about N800,00. This is fraud
and a shame to the government.”
The pensioners insisted that they want a police pension
board to manage their pension and gratuity just as the military has their own
board – where salaries and interests are paid directly by the federal
government, not a private firm.
“I’ve never seen all over the world where security agency
pensions are managed by a private limited company. MPF pension Ltd are all
eating our money. Theie licence should’ve revoked.”
“We want Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) to be managed by the
Police Pension Board (PPB).”
Addressing their concerns, the director general of PENCOM,
Ms Omolola Oluworaran assured that the entire processes of payments of pensions
and gratuities are going to be reformed.
“We are working to reform the current pension scheme so as
to have the best for the police officers.
“I won’t be able to give details presently. But I have made
proposals which are subject to amendments and approvals.
“So I’m not comfortable discussing those proposals with the
press but what I can say is that the police is fighting for a righteous cause
and the Commission under my leadership will try and see how we can ensure that
the cause of the police, the cause they are fighting for, is fulfilled”
Oloworara acknowledged that what they get was embarrassing,
but said the outcome of her proposals may not exactly be the way they want it
but certainly I have the mandate and assurance of President Bola Tinubu that
their issues will be given rapid and favourable attention.
Appealing for calm and a little more patience for two more
months, Oloworara further disclosed that Tinubu has vowed to offset all
outstanding debts owed retired police personnel.
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