Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police (IGP), says the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is committed to improving the welfare of retired officers under the contributory pension scheme (CPS).
On Monday in Abuja, retired police officers protested at the national assembly and the force headquarters, demanding their removal from the CPS.
The protesters, mostly elderly, gathered at the assembly gates carrying placards, insisting that the CPS has subjected them to hardship and uncertainty years after retirement.
Addressing the aggrieved retired officers at the force headquarters, Egbetokun expressed empathy over their plight, noting that inadequate retirement benefits remain a concern even for serving officers nearing retirement.
He also added that exiting the scheme is not the only solution to pension challenges.
“We all feel concerned. We empathise with you because we are also going to retire. I have been engaging at the highest level to ensure that something is done to improve the condition of the poor pensioner,” the IGP said.
Egbetokun said he told the protesters that he had just returned from a meeting with Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA), where the welfare of retired police officers was a key topic of discussion.
“Even right now, I was just coming from a meeting with the NSA. The subject matter is the poor pension of retired officers. There are things that we need to make to ensure that your suffering in retirement is alleviated,” he said.
The IGP added that several steps have been taken to address the welfare of the retired officers, though he declined to disclose details publicly.
“But I just want to assure you that we empathise with you, and we are not just folding our arms. We are doing a lot to ensure that something is done,” he added.
Egbetokun cautioned retirees against being manipulated by external actors with ulterior motives.
“Don’t allow the enemies of the police to use you. Be suspicious of those who pretend to be on your side. They may not mean well for you,” he warned.
Speaking on the calls for the police to exit the CPS, Egbetokun said he is not opposed to the idea if it resolves the pension issues.
“I am not opposed to your exiting of the CPS. I’m not opposed to it. If exiting from CPS will solve the problem, I will go for it,” he said.
“But if it is difficult for us to exit CPS, what else can we do? We have been agitating, exit CPS, exit CPS. For the past 11 years, it has not worked.”
He said while previous inspector-generals have tried to remove the police from the CPS, the process is beyond the power of any single IGP.
“The agitation to exit the CPS has been on since 2014, 11 years ago. All previous IGs have tried their best to remove the police from the CPS. But exiting the CPS is beyond the power of any Inspector General of Police,” he said.
Egbetokun said a good pension can be earned within the scheme if properly managed.
“Even while in the CPS, this is what I have said that people have misconstrued. They have misinterpreted it as meaning that it is not until you exit the CPS that you can earn a good pension,” he said.
“Even with the CPS, we can improve the operation of that CPS and ensure that you are happy in retirement.”
The IGP said he is exploring alternative solutions to address pension challenges given the failure of past efforts to exit the CPS.
“So as IG, I started thinking that we have to start looking for alternative ways of addressing the challenges. And it’s these alternative ways I’m working on that people are misinterpreting as I am opposing your exit from CPS,” he added.
