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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