Keep police in the pension scheme
Keep police in the pension scheme
POLICE retirees are being set up for untold privations with the campaign in the National Assembly to enact legislation to remove the Nigeria Police from the Contributory Pension Scheme. Instead, a new act will establish a Police Pension Board to administer police pensions under a Defined Benefits Scheme. This is shortsighted. The government and NASS must keep the police in the CPS.
Vested interests toying with the financial well-being of retired police officers are working towards a return to the dark days when retired police employees endured years of poverty with many dying while waiting to collect their gratuities and pensions. This obtuse lobby must fail.
Binos Yaroe, the senator who sponsored the bill, argues that the current pension payments are insufficient as retired Commissioners of Police take N70,000 while Assistant Superintendents of Police collect about N40,000 to N50,000 as pension. Representative of the Inspector-General of Police, Bala Ciroma, and retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Yesufu, advocated that the police be granted the same privileges as the military, the self-styled Department of State Services, and other intelligence agencies to exit the CPS.
The proposal has faced strong pushback from stakeholders, including the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, the CBN, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, and the industry regulator – the National Pension Commission. They have warned that pulling the police out of the CPS would destabilise the financial system and impose further budgetary constraints on the government.
The Chief Executive Officer of PenOp, Oguche Agudah argues that reverting to the DBS, which requires budgetary expenditure, is fiscally unsustainable. It will erode the value of pension assets, strain government finances, and delay pension payments. Passing the bill will open a floodgate of similar requests from other MDAs. This could disrupt the entire scheme, he says.
These fears are justified. The NPF Pensions Limited, a registered pension funds administrator, manages the police pension funds. Contributions are locked in bonds, stocks, and other financial instruments. The government will also have to invest N3.5 trillion immediately at a 10 per cent rate of return annually to cover the pension payment requirement for the 400,000-strong police force in the future.
Those proposing a change to the status quo need to be reminded that the CPS was established under the Pension Reform Act of 2004 to remove the burden of pension payments from the government. It is to create a sustainable pre-funded model for pension administration for all workers with employees and employers contributing at least 18 per cent of wages monthly to their retirement savings account.
This model has created the largest pool of investable funds in Nigeria. As of June 2024, the pension fund has grown to N21 trillion with about half being returns on investment of total contributions.
It is bewildering that certain lobbyists fail to appreciate a working model and their motives must be questioned. The government is yet to clear legacy accrued pension rights and other pension liabilities predating the enactment of the PRA in 2004.
Many government pensioners who retired up to 11 years ago are yet to collect a dime because the government has failed to remit accrued rights benefits (needed to compute their monthly payments or annuities) to their RSAs. The last payment of N14.92 billion was in August 2020 and covered only four months’ arrears. This is the sort of mess that proponents of the PPB bill want to impose on police retirees.
Low wages fuel pervasive corruption that undermines the police. Therefore, advocacy should be for improved salaries and welfare. Enhanced salaries will translate into higher pension payments upon retirement.
Passing the police pension board bill is unnecessary and retrogressive. It is a recipe for disaster.
(Copied From: Punch Editorial Board)
News
Two men docked for allegedly defiling underaged girl
Two men docked for allegedly defiling underaged girl
The police in Lagos on Friday, charged two men before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defiling an 11- year-old girl.
The defendants are: Prince Tomnyie, 40, a businessman, who resides at Agege, and Micheal Adenuga, 24, a furniture maker, who resides at Atere Street in Lekki.
They are standing trial on charges of defilement, and had each pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor, ASP Adegoke Ademigbuji told the court that they committed the offence sometimes in December 2024, and September 2025, at Langbasa Ajah and Igbara Lekki, Lagos .
The prosecutor alleged that the victim’s father, had taken his daughter for medical check and it was discovered that the minor had been defiled.
The prosecution alleged that the victim had told her father that his friend, Tomnyie, defiled her sometimes ago.
Ademigbuji alleged that the victim also mentioned the second defendant’s name who lives in their neigbourhood.
The offence contravenes the provisons of section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2015.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr L. A Owolabi, granted the defendants bail in the sum of of N600,000 each, with two sureties each in like sum.
He adjourned the case until March 5, for mention. (NAN)
News
Report any officer asking for money for release of suspect as Police insist bail is free
Report any officer asking for money for release of suspect as Police insist bail is free
The Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has insisted that bail is free, and called on the public to report any officer asking for money to release a suspect on bail.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT, SP Josephine Adeh, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.
Adeh spoke in reaction to public outcry that some police officers were demanding money to release suspects on bail in the territory.
She said the report of the erring officers would serve as a deterrent to others, adding that it was fraudulent to demand for money to release a suspect on bail.
Adeh blamed the yielding to such fraudulent demand on ignorance on the part of the victims who refused to stand on their rights.
“A similar case was reported where an officer demanded money to release a suspect on bail and when the matter was reported, we requested for evidence from the victim.
“The evidence was provided because the money was transferred to the officer’s account and actions are being taken on the issue.
“So, I encourage the public to take advantage of the FCT Police Complaint Response Unit (CRU) lines on 08107314192 to report such misconduct with evidence,” she said.
Adeh urged the public to always insist on their rights and refuse any form of payment to release a suspect on bail.(NAN)
News
Former President sentenced to five years in prison by Court
Former President sentenced to five years in prison by Court
South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol was on Friday sentenced to five years in prison for obstruction of justice.
The Seoul Central District Court found that the 65-year-old conservative, with the help of the presidential security service, had tried to prevent his own arrest and deleted multiple documents related to the investigation against him.
Yoon shocked the nation by imposing martial law on December 3, 2024, amid a budget dispute with the opposition, plunging the country into a political crisis.
He justified the drastic measure as necessary to protect South Korea’s democratic order and accused the left-leaning opposition of being infiltrated by communists with ties to China and North Korea, though he provided no evidence for these claims.
In a separate trial, prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Yoon on charges of incitement, with a verdict expected on February 19.
While the death penalty remains legally in force in South Korea, it has not been carried out for nearly 30 years.
Yoon’s actions previously alarmed international investors and led to withheld investments, damaging the reputation of South Korea as a political and economic model for the region.
Since last summer, South Korea has been led by President Lee Jae Myung, a left-leaning centrist and long-time political rival of Yoon. (dpa/NAN)
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