Retired police officers protesting their continued inclusion in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) may soon get relief, as the Senate has pledged to fast-track their removal from the system.
For weeks, the retirees have camped at the Mopol Gate of the National Assembly, sleeping in makeshift tents to draw attention to their grievances.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, while receiving the leadership of the retired officers on Thursday, assured them that the Senate would give the matter urgent legislative attention. He noted that the Senate would align with the House of Representatives, which has already passed a bill to remove the police from the CPS.
In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, Akpabio said: “The policy, from what you have told us, was not well thought out. Take it that you have to disperse from the gate. That problem, as far as the law is concerned, is over.”
He added that the Senate would, by Tuesday next week, concur with the House’s decision and transmit a final Act for presidential assent.
“I am confident that President Bola Tinubu, being a listening President, will sign it into law. The Scheme is certainly not good for the security personnel,” he said.
Akpabio also questioned why the police remained under the CPS while other security agencies have exited.
“If the Military, DSS, NIA, and others have exited, I see no reason why the Police should remain while those in the echelon of the service are out of it… What is good for the goose is also good for the gander,” he added, stressing that pension arrangements must be uniform “from the Inspector General to the last constable.”
Leader of the retirees, CSP Mannir Lawal Zaria, expressed gratitude to the Senate President and said they were hopeful that the issue would be resolved.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), in his vote of thanks, commended Akpabio for his swift intervention in the plight of the retired officers.
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