By Eniola Ambosege
Retired police officers under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) have demanded the immediate exit of the Nigeria Police Force from the scheme, describing it as โtoxic, discriminatory and incompatible with the realities of policing in Nigeria.โ
The retirees made the demand in a press release issued on Friday in response to a claim by the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) that the Federal Government may require an additional โฆ7 trillion annually if the police exit the CPS.
Reacting to the claim, the retirees described it as โa recurring pernicious propaganda that prioritises fiscal arithmetic over justice, equity and national security.โ
They said, โThe reported claim or baseless and unfounded warning that the Federal Government may require โฆ7 trillion annually if the police exit the CPS is misleading and lacks any credible macroeconomic foundation.โ
The group challenged PenOp and its Chief Executive Officer, Oguche Aguda, to substantiate the claim with verifiable data, insisting that police retirement benefits should not be portrayed as the backbone of Nigeriaโs economy.
โFiscal and monetary policies are the exclusive responsibility of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria. It is unclear when pension fund operators assumed these constitutional roles,โ the retirees stated.
They argued that the CPS does not reflect the hazardous nature of policing in Nigeria, noting that officers face daily exposure to death, injury and psychological trauma.
According to them, โTo cage the police alone in such an obnoxious and toxic scheme is a grave policy inconsistency. Fiscal sustainability must not be pursued at the expense of police welfare, morale and operational effectiveness.โ
The retirees further dismissed the โฆ7 trillion argument as a false framing, stressing that security should be viewed as an investment rather than a cost.
โNo economy can thrive without internal stability. The cost of insecurityโbanditry, kidnapping, terrorism and loss of investor confidenceโalready far exceeds any pension liability,โ they said.
They also rejected PenOpโs position that not all officers support exiting the CPS, insisting that the demand reflects a unanimous position within the Force.
โThe Nigeria Police Force is a single, indivisible security agency and cannot operate multiple discriminatory pension systems. Both serving and retired officers want a total exit from the CPS,โ the statement read.
Citing international practices, the retirees noted that police forces in several countries, including Chile, are excluded from contributory pension schemes, accusing PenOp of lacking sufficient understanding of global policing pension models.
The group further alleged that pension fund operators had made massive investments using police pension funds without commensurate benefits to retirees.
They therefore called for the establishment of a Police Pension Board to manage police gratuities and pensions outside the CPS framework.
โThe issue before us is not pension reform but total exit from the CPS and the establishment of a Police Pension Board that guarantees dignity and certainty in retirement,โ they added.
The retirees warned that continued retention of the police in the CPS would undermine morale and national security, stating that โthe Nigeria Police Force must not be the sacrificial lamb of pension reform.โ
