Retired officers of the Nigeria Police Force under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) have appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently sign into law the bill seeking the exit of the police from the scheme, to the establishment of a Nigeria Police Pension Board.

The appeal was made by the Nigerian Union of Retired Police Officers under the Contributory Pension Scheme through the Chairman of its Kaduna State chapter, retired CSP Mannir M. Lawal, in a press statement distributed to journalists in Kaduna

Lawal said the call represents the position of all branches of the union across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, with retired SP Chris Effiong serving as the National Coordinator.

He explained that the appeal followed the recent transmission of the bill by the 10th National Assembly of Nigeria to the President for assent.

According to him, the union convened an emergency meeting on March 2, 2026, at the Police Officers’ Mess in Kaduna to deliberate on the challenges facing retired police officers currently under the CPS and to collectively call on the President to fast-track the signing of the bill.

Lawal said members at the meeting reviewed the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme since its introduction in 2004 and its amendment in 2014, expressing deep concern over what they described as severe hardships faced by many retired police officers under the scheme.

He noted that many officers who were already close to retirement when the CPS was introduced had served between 18 and 24 years or more, making the transition particularly difficult.

The retirees said many of them now struggle to meet basic needs, including paying school fees for their children from nursery to tertiary levels, providing adequate food for their families, and accessing medical treatment.

They also expressed concern that several retired officers are battling serious health challenges without the financial capacity to seek treatment, while also raising alarm over what they described as a rising number of deaths among retirees due to poverty and lack of adequate welfare support.

The union further raised concerns over the recent ₦758 billion pension disbursement approved by the Federal Government, which it said created several issues.

Among the concerns are allegations of selective payments where some retirees were paid while others were not, disparities in payments among retirees of the same rank who retired at the same time, and instances where junior officers allegedly received higher payments than their seniors.

Other issues highlighted include payments sent to the wrong Pension Fund Administrators, lack of transparency regarding the payment template used, and cases where retirees who submitted required documents such as Gen. 60 forms, bank statements and National Identification Numbers (NIN) were yet to receive their payments.

The retirees also noted that issues relating to gratuity and the 2022 pension increment were not addressed, while the ₦32,000 consequential adjustment reportedly stopped in December 2025.

The union said signing the bill into law would restore hope and dignity to retired police officers and improve the welfare of personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, thereby motivating serving officers to perform their duties more effectively without fear of neglect after retirement.

It therefore urged President Tinubu to sign the bill as a matter of urgency to address the challenges currently faced by retired police officers under the Contributory Pension Scheme. (The Sun)

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