Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu
The delay in the proposed removal of the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme continues to generate much anger among retired members of the force. Protests were held this month in Abuja on the heels of an earlier one in September 2025 by the Police Retired Officers’ Forum to press home their demands.
So, they want President Bola Tinubu to sign the Police Exit Bill to remove them from the CPS.
Their major grouse is that after putting in so many years in service, their pensions were not worth their decades of labour. They claim that the CPS is “fraudulent, illegal, inhumane and obnoxious,” and demand immediate presidential assent to the PEB.
This position is based on false assumptions and could eventually backfire.
The bill was passed by the National Assembly in December and transmitted to the Presidency in March.
The bill, sponsored by House Leader Julius Ihonvbere, seeks to establish a Nigerian Police Force Pension Board and exempt the police from the CPS under the Pension Reform Act 2014.
The National Coordinator of the PROFN, Raphael Irowainu, had lamented that all other major security agencies had already been removed from the scheme.
The protesters, who blocked one of the gates to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, had lamented that they were receiving as little as N30,000 monthly in pensions. A copy of a letter of protest presented to the Villa, signed by Irowainu and National Secretary Nnaemezie Enyi, detailed the pension payouts that retirees currently receive.
A Chief Superintendent of Police, it stated, collects a lump sum of N3 million to N4 million and a monthly pension of N50,000 after decades of service.
It said an Assistant Superintendent receives a lump sum of N1.5 million to N2 million and a monthly pension of N25,000.
They blamed the National Pension Commission for the poor benefits they are paid. This belies logic; they should blame the government.
The group warned that if the President declined to sign the bill, they were “ready and fully prepared for an indefinite National Peaceful Protest tagged ‘No Retreat, No Surrender’” at the Presidential Villa, other designated venues in Abuja and all 36 state capitals.
On Monday, members of the Ogun State chapter staged a peaceful protest at the office of Governor Dapo Abiodun in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. They called for the implementation of the Nigerian Police Pension Board, which is expected to remove the NPF from the CPS and manage, administer and pay retirement benefits, including gratuities and pensions, to retired officers.
They urged Tinubu to consider the impact of inflation, rising food prices and living conditions worsened by fuel subsidy removal, and assent to the bill to ease economic hardship. The protesters said former President Muhammadu Buhari declined to assent to the bill before he left office.
Clearly, this is an issue that demands fairness. It amounts to downright contempt to refuse to listen to the cry of these personnel who had risked their lives in the service of the country.
But the police retirees misunderstand the CPS. The fund has grown to N28 trillion since its inception in 2004/05. It is a secure and growing pool from which pension benefits are drawn.
It contrasts the Defined Benefits Scheme that is reliant on budgetary provisions and has, in the past, seen pensioners unpaid for years, some dying as a result.
The major reason for the poor pensions is the low pay of the police. Entry point recruits reportedly earn less than N100,000 monthly. An independent police pension scheme cannot solve this dilemma.
Under the CPS, a minimum of 18 per cent of employees’ monthly emoluments (basic salary, housing, and transport allowances) is contributed to their Retirement Savings Account. The employer contributes at least 10 per cent, while the employee contributes 8.0 per cent.
Given the poor pay of the police, such deductions won’t amount to much even after 35 years of service.
Military personnel in service between July 2005 and December 2011 (when the exemption occurred) are eligible for a refund of the 8.0 per cent employee portion previously deducted, while military retirees often receive higher lump-sum gratuities compared to civilian counterparts under the CPS.
There has, however, been a pushback from PENCOM and operators in the industry against the pressure for the removal of the police from the CPS.
They worry that the move to exit the police and some paramilitary agencies from the CPS risks a return to the DBS. They warn that it places an additional financial burden on the Federal Government.
The stakeholders said in a position paper that it would dismantle well-assembled systems put in place for pensions administration in the country. They also warned that other agencies in the public service might follow suit by demanding a return to the DBS. This is a recipe for disaster.
So, all stakeholders should organise a roundtable where a proper assessment of this position will be made. Reason must prevail.
Ultimately, the Federal Government should improve police remuneration. This will enhance police pensions upon retirement.
The Punch
