The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday assured retired police officers protesting at the National Assembly that the chamber will formally remove them from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) next week, signaling a major breakthrough in their prolonged struggle.
The retirees, who have been maintaining a vigil at the Assembly entrance over their inclusion in the scheme, were received by Akpabio in his office.
The Senate President pledged that the upper chamber would align with the House of Representatives, which had already passed legislation exempting the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS.
According to a statement from Akpabio’s Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, the Senate President described the CPS policy as “not well thought out” and said it had imposed “undue hardship on police personnel who risked their lives to secure the country.”
He told the retirees, “Take it that you have to disperse from the gate. That problem, as far as the law is concerned, is over. On Tuesday next week, we will concur with what the House of Representatives has done and produce an Act exiting you from the Scheme. I know that President Bola Tinubu, being a listening President, would sign it into law. The Scheme is certainly not good for security personnel.”
Akpabio questioned the rationale behind keeping police officers under the CPS when other security agencies, including the military, DSS, and NIA, had been exempted.
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He stated, “If the Military, DSS, NIA and others had exited, I see no reason why the Police should remain while those in the echelon of the service are out of it. You all fought insecurity together. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. We will ensure that the Scheme is the same from the IG to the last constable.”
He criticised the tendency to adopt policies without fully assessing their implications, noting that the CPS had adversely affected many police retirees.
Earlier, the leader of the retirees, CSP Mannir Lawal Zaria, expressed gratitude for the rare meeting with the Senate President and voiced hope that their pension concerns would finally be addressed.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele also commended Akpabio, praising his “swift response and empathy toward the plight of the ex-officers.”
With the Senate scheduled to take concurrence action next week and presidential assent expected soon after, the exit of police officers from the CPS now appears imminent, a development many retirees see as a long-awaited step toward justice for those who served on Nigeria’s frontline security.