The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has formally faulted a claim by the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) that exiting the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) would impose an immediate 7 trillion Naira liability on the Federal Government.
In a robust response issued on Friday, January 23, 2026, the police leadership described the figure as “speculative and exaggerated,” aimed at discouraging the government from granting the Force the same pension parity enjoyed by the military and intelligence services. The NPF argues that the current CPS has failed its personnel, leaving retirees with meager monthly stipends that do not reflect the risks of frontline policing or the current economic reality of high inflation.
The 7 trillion Naira figure was recently highlighted in actuarial estimates by PenOp and the National Pension Commission (PenCom), who warned that moving 350,000 police officers back to a “Defined Benefit” system would create an unmanageable fiscal burden. PenOp CEO Oguche Agudah cautioned that such a move would not only destabilize the national budget but also require a minimum of 3.5 trillion Naira annually to fund. However, the NPF maintains that the transition is a matter of equity and national security morale.
They contend that the actuarial projections fail to account for the long-term cost of a demoralized police force and the potential for a smoother transition through a dedicated “Police Pension Board” which has already received legislative support.
The legislative push for this exit reached a milestone in December 2025 when the Senate passed the Nigeria Police Force Pension Board Bill, following an earlier approval by the House of Representatives. This bill seeks to establish an independent statutory board to manage retirement benefits for all NPF personnel, effectively exempting them from the oversight of PenCom. ]
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has assured retired officers that the National Assembly remains committed to harmonizing the bill and sending it for presidential assent. Advocates for the police argue that the “unfunded liability” argument is a scare tactic, noting that a phased transition could mitigate immediate budgetary shocks.
As the bill awaits final harmonization and the President’s signature, the debate has intensified over the stability of Nigeria’s broader pension assets, which currently exceed 21 trillion Naira. Critics of the exit argue that unwinding police investments could disrupt the bond and infrastructure markets where these funds are currently deployed.
Conversely, police retirees continue to stage peaceful protests at the National Assembly, displaying placards that label the CPS a “killer policy.” For now, the standoff remains a critical test of the Tinubu administration’s ability to balance the welfare demands of its largest internal security agency against the strict fiscal constraints of the federal balance sheet.
 has formally faulted a claim by the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) that exiting the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) would impose an immediate 7 trillion Naira liability on the Federal Government.){kind=link}