Lawmaker Reveals How Current Contributory Pension Scheme Is Unpalatable For Police Retirees

Francis Waive, a lawmaker from Delta State, under the All Progressives Congress (APC), says operating under the current pension scheme has been unpalatable and regrettable for the retirees of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

The lawmaker made this known on the sidelines of the public hearing of the 'Bill For an Act to Amend The Pension Reform Act, 2014 To Provide For The Exemption Of The Nigeria Police Force From The Contributory Pension Scheme' in Abuja.

He called for the exemption of the Nigeria Police Force from the contributory pension scheme.

The lawmaker who sponsored the Bill argued that the police be exempted from the scheme just like the armed forces and the Department of State Services (DSS).

“For example, the highest retirement benefit of a Deputy Superintendent of Police under this obnoxious pension scheme is N2.5 million and that of an Assistant Superintendent of Police is N1.5 million.

”While their equivalent in the Army (captain) and DSS are paid N12.8m and N10.3m respectively,” he said.

According to him, upon retirement, the monthly take-home of a retired DSP is just N31,600 while that of a Captain an equivalent in the Army is N180,000.

“While for the Police Inspector is N15,000, a warrant officer, the Army equivalent to a Police Inspector takes home N120,000. What is good for the goose is good for the gander,” he said.

”Exempting the police from the obnoxious Contributory Pension Scheme could just be the magic to motivate officers and men of the force to go the extra mile,” he said.

In September 2021, a bill seeking to exempt the police from the contributory pension scheme passed the second reading in the House of Representatives.

The proposed legislation seeks to amend section 5 (1) of the Pension Reform Act of 2014, to include officers of the NPF as part of the categories of persons exempted from the contributory pension.

The contributory pension scheme (CPS) applies to employees in the public service of the federation, the federal capital territory (FCT), states, local government councils, as well as workers in the private sector.

Employees are allowed to make voluntary contributions into their RSA through their pension fund administrator, in addition to their mandatory pension contributions to improve their retirement benefits.

However, members of the armed forces, intelligence and secret services are exempted from the scheme.

The Nigeria police were brought under the current pension scheme by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.