•Protesting retired police officers
The Kaduna State Chapter of Retired Police Officers has announced plans to stage a peaceful protest over the non-passage of two pension bills currently before the Senate next Tuesday in Abuja.
The Chairman of the Retirees, Kaduna State Chapter, CSP Mannir Lawal Zaria (retd), stated this in a press statement issued to the media shortly after their monthly general meeting held at the Police Officers’ Mess in Kaduna.
The retired police officers are urging the passage of two bills currently pending at the National Assembly, reports Nigerian Tribune.
These bills seek to exclude the Nigeria Police from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and establish the Nigeria Police Pension Board.
CSP Zaria announced that the planned peaceful protest will take place at the premises of the National Assembly in Abuja next Tuesday.
According to him, the protest is intended to press home their demand to exclude police retirees from the Contributory Pension Scheme and to establish the police pension board.
The statement further read, “During the meeting, we received reports of the alarming number of deaths among police retirees. Within one week, seven retirees were buried due to extreme poverty,” he lamented.
“Our children are out of school, from nursery to tertiary institutions. Our members can no longer afford medical expenses, let alone provide for their families. As a result, we have lost all respect from our families.”
In a related development, the retirees accused the Nigeria Police of allegedly planning to introduce a new pension scheme called the “100 and 80% Pension Scheme.”
According to the retirees, the scheme would grant police officers from the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police to Commissioner of Police 100% of their salaries as a pension, while officers from Chief Superintendent of Police to Constable would receive 80% of their salaries.
