Police retirees across the South-South have demanded a total exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), insisting that no amount of reforms will solve the hardship they face under the system.
At a tense stakeholders’ meeting in Calabar on Tuesday, convened by the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, the retirees said their years of service to Nigeria had been rewarded with poverty, neglect, and broken promises.
Speaking on behalf of the association, DSP Barr. Ofem Mbang (rtd), the National Legal Adviser, declared:
“We are not asking for palliatives. We are asking for justice. Nothing short of a total exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme will work. We want a Police Pension Board like the military.”
His remarks sparked loud applause and chants of “All we are saying, give us our right!” from the hall packed with retirees.
Dahir-Umar, sent by President Bola Tinubu to engage with retirees nationwide, unveiled plans for a 75–100% increase in police pensions, Restoration of gratuity, Health insurance for retirees and their families, Reforms at NPF Pensions Ltd and a new “Defined Benefit Contributory Scheme” tailored for police officers.
But her assurances were dismissed as ‘half-measures’ by many in attendance.
Several officers shared harrowing experiences:
Retired Inspector Onen Igri said his pension stopped in 2015 after his annuity provider, Standard Alliance, closed its Uyo office. “Since then, nothing has been done. I’m stranded,” he lamented.
Another retiree said he waited nine months before receiving just three months’ arrears from African Alliance.
Retired AIG Ene Okon revealed he had yet to be refunded his contributions years after leaving service. “If nothing changes, I will go to court,” he warned.
Dahir-Umar promised that arrears owed by annuity companies would be cleared within a week and unresolved cases taken directly to the President.
But the retirees remained defiant. “Our problem is not promises. Exit us from CPS now,” one elderly officer shouted.
The battle is no longer just about pension formulas, it is about trust. For the retirees, their demand is simple: freedom from the contributory scheme and a pension structure like the military’s.
As one retiree muttered while leaving the venue: “They want us to wait. But we’ve waited enough.”