Retired police officers on Monday in Abuja, protested against poor welfare, demanding their removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPC).
The demonstrators comprising elderly retired personnel, stormed the entrance gate of the National Assembly in Abuja, carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs as they stood in the rain.
They lamented that their welfare and dignity had been neglected for too long.
Speaking during the protest, Manir Lawal, a retired Chief Superintendent of Police, called on the government to exit police retirees from the pension scheme, which, according to him, is exploitative and unjust.
Mansir said, “We are here to ask the government to remove us from the contributory pension scheme.
“The pension scheme is exploitative and unjust.
“I am 67 years old. Many of us here are in our 60s and 70s. We have served this country faithfully and deserve to retire in dignity.
“This scheme has impoverished us. It is our right to demand better,” he said.
Despite the rain, the retirees stood firm, vowing not to leave until their concerns were addressed by the leadership of the National Assembly.
They called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to urgently return police officers to the defined benefits pension arrangement previously used in the public service.
Speaking in solidarity with the retirees, former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore,
said Nigeria’s internal security will remain weak until the federal government prioritises the welfare and motivation of the police force.
Sowore described the police as the most critical institution in Nigeria’s internal security architecture, but said years of neglect had rendered it ineffective.
“The moment you don’t have the police force, you have no security…
Nigeria can’t be safe without a motivated police force.
He noted that although the police have more personnel than the army, they have been sidelined and underutilised in managing internal threats.
Retired police officers protest poor welfare, demand removal from contributory pension scheme
