The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun has kicked against the bill seeking to exempt the police from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) saying that it will not favour the police force. The IG is leading a push back on the argument that was the gain for the passage of the bill at the National Assembly. Leading a disapproval of the bill will earn accent denial.
Egbetokun who displays unalloyed support for CPS and stands to stop Presidential accent to a waiting police pension bill passed by the previous National Assembly pinpointedly addressed some police officers and delicately explained that if the police exit the CPS, they will go back to square one. He said: “Yes it is true that a bill has been passed by the National Assembly for the police to exit the CPS and that bill is awaiting presidential assent, but has anyone of you seen the details of the content of that bill? You need to go and look at the bill and see where you are exiting to.”
Egbetokun who has a smooth understanding of the CPS, spread out the closeup pictures of CPS and the defined benefit system DBS that is gaining traction and made it clear to all that up ticking DBS is a journey back to financial strangulation. “Everybody is shouting ‘let us go, let us go’. You must know where you are going before you start shouting, ‘I want to go. When I became IG, I set up a committee to look into the pension issue and we discovered that the bill awaiting the assent of the President does not favour us. If we exit the present Contributory Pension Scheme, we are going back to square one, where we were before the introduction of the scheme. Our pension will be in the hands of politicians and they will be the one to address our pension. Our pension will be subject to budgetary allocation every year and when the government does not have money, you will not be paid.
Going into memory before the onset of CPS, the IG speaking from a huge reservoir of deplorable retirees era down played the misgivings about CPS, and warned his constituency that what they are asking for without a clear vision of what to expect was returning to the square for the gathering of retirees with dashed hopes and far in between government interventions. “You remember those days when retirees will go and line up and wait for months and they will not get anything, that is the place you want us to go back to. So we have to be careful, not to go from the frying pan to the fire. I am the Inspector General of Police, you must trust me that I care about your welfare and I will fight this pension issue to make sure that police officers who retire get the best of pension in retirement.
He assured officers and men that he is still engaging to get better pension deals especially at retirement for police retirees, “Let me disclose to you what I am working on, I am working on a pension scheme where every police officer will retire with his salary. That is the best and that is what I want for the police. Not the exit you are all shouting about. Where are you going, where are you exiting to, you don’t know where you people are going and you are saying let us go. Can you tell me where you are going before you say let us go. So let us be very careful with this emotion we are attaching to exiting the scheme.”
Also speaking during the public hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, on the bill sponsored by Senator Binos Dauda Yaroe, representing Adamawa South, Mr. Ivor Takor, Director, Centre for Pension Rights Advocacy (CPRA) stated that the CPS remains the most secure and sustainable system for ensuring police officers’ pensions and safeguarding them from old age poverty.
Takor made the following recommendations: “Enhanced Gratuity Payments: The Federal Government should provide police retirees with a gratuity amounting to 300% of their final annual gross pay upon retirement, while their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) continue to fund their monthly pensions.
“Government-Exclusive Contributions: The Federal Government should assume full responsibility for funding police pensions under the CPS. This approach would enhance the adequacy and sustainability of police retirement benefits without disrupting the current pension system.
“Retention of Full Salaries for Senior Officers: Senior police officers at the rank of Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) and above, who currently retire with their full salaries as pensions, should retain this benefit within the CPS framework to ensure continuity and fairness.
“Unified Support for the CPS: The Contributory Pension Scheme should remain the foundation of police pensions, with necessary enhancements implemented within its existing structure as provided under the Pension Reform Act of 2014. This ensures stability, transparency, and long-term financial security for police personnel.”
