Retired Police Officers Urge Tinubu To Probe N13.6Tr PENCOM Investments

Retired police officers under the aegis of Nigeria Police Retirees (NPR) have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to probe the N13.6 trillion the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) claim to have invested on the scheme.

In a statement signed by their National Coordinator, Mr. Christopher Effiong; National Legal Adviser, Mr. Ofem Abang and the Vice Chairman, Cross River State chapter, Mr. Iwara Ibiang, the retirees said their present condition under the contributory pension scheme falls short of anything good, adding the N13.6 trillion investment by PENCOM has not impacted on them.

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“It is proper that PENCOM is probed because that money is sufficient enough to cater for the needs of over 44,300 retired police officers under the scheme.

“From all our findings, this money must have been invested, because usually they are supposed to invest this money appropriately and then allow the beneficiaries to have something reasonable to take home. By the probe we will unearth whatever the money would have been used for,” the statement said.

Guardian reports that the retirees said they have lost over 500 of their colleagues since the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), urging President Tinubu to urgently assent to the recent bill passed by the 9th National Assembly for the establishment of the Nigeria Police Pension Board thus removing them from the scheme.

“As a result of this CPS introduced by the Federal Government during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, we have lost many lives and many are bedridden up till today from date of retirement. Some even collapsed hearing what they are going to pass through and are bedridden because of stroke resulting from hypertension.

“We have lost over 500 retired police officers and more than 300 are bedridden. They can’t have money to seek medical attention because there is no money, especially as most of them are retired and their children are in secondary schools. They cannot even afford to pay their children’s school fees. Even as a DSP, you retire and you go home with a little above N30, 000 whereas under the benefits scheme you should go home with over N150, 000 monthly pension,” they noted.

They noted that they need money to take care of their health at old age, adding: “We need money to keep ourselves busy so that we will not collapse. In fact, we have gone through so much suffering and problems because of this thing.”

While thanking the 9th National Assembly for passing the bill seeking to remove them from the CPS, they told the President that assenting to the bill would give police retirees a new lease of life.