CP Rashid Afegbua addressing a cross section of the protesting police retirees in Cross Rivers State in Calabar on Monday.
By Anietie Akpan
Police Retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), in Cross River State, on Monday, defied heavy downpour and staged a peaceful protest in Calabar calling on the Federal Government to honourably exempt the police from the CPS.
Armed with placards, the police retirees led by Elder Ofem Mbang (DSP Rtd), called on the President the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and others chanting, “all we are saying, give us our rights”. The protesting retires said they have lost confidence in the IG as severally they have taken the matter to him and even before the National Assembly but he was not helping matters.
In a nine point position letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu and endorsed by Elder Mbang (DSP Rtd); CSO Obeten Uket (Rtd); SP Jarlath Abang (Rtd); DSP Daniel Ochang (Rtd); ASP Paul Udo-Inyang (Rtd) and four others said they were staging the peaceful protests “denouncing our continued domicile and enslavement in the deadly and obnoxious CPS that is very dehumanizing” .
They said, their protest is on outstanding issues that are overlooked by the Federal Government of Nigeria which “the incumbent IGP and the former IGPs deliberately and intentionally failed, neglected and refused to honestly bring to your (the president) knowledge with a view to bringing about effective and efficient policing and service delivering”.
According to them, there have been several reports and public hearings brought to the knowledge of the president “but IGPs who are in a better position to dispose the suffering of their officers and men and to say all is not well, have no courage to do so for personal interestthat is detrimental to both serving and retired police officers.
“The scheme has so much rendered us paupers in our different communities and even our immediate families. We are unable to meet up with financial obligations to our respective families, not even to talk about our health challenges”.
They pleaded with the president and others to, “honourably exempt the police from the CPS (and) establish a police pension board to manage police gratuity & pensions, revoke the licence of NPF pensions ltd- let police focus on their statutory duties”.
The police retirees who were received under the heavy downpour at the State Police Headquarters, Diamond Hill, Calabar by the State Commissioner of Police, (CP) Rashid Afegbua said, the “NPF Pension Ltd is a conduit for fraud and if CPS is so good, why did AIGs, DIGs and the IGPs exempt themselves?”.
In this regards, the protest police retirees called on President Tinubu and the Federal Government to “improve police welfare for effective service delivery, revive police mechanic workshops, fuel dumps & stores nationwide for improved service delivery, payment of debarment allowanceas applicable to military and intelligence agencies”.
They pleaded with President Tinubu, the Senate President, the Speaker to “please don’t allow the incumbent and former inspector generals of police to deceive you into believing that all is well for serving and retired police officers to motivate them perform effectively and effectively while in service and on retirement
“We appeal to you, the Presid Senate President and Speaker of Federal House of Representatives to use your good offices to do the needful by looking into the plight of serving and retired police officers, with a view to finding solutions and succor”.
The protesting retirees also took their protest to the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Zone 6, represented by the Deputy Commissioner, Administration, I. B. Marku who received the protest letter on behalf of the AIG.
The State Commissioner of Police in his response, exchanged some pleasantries with the protesters saying, “we are almost getting to your own side (retirement) now. What you are doing now is what you are supposed to do, peaceful and quietly, ask and government will look into it and you have been asking and certainly government will look into it.
“The IG is really concerned and he is looking into it He has asked me to appeal to you, he feels it and are going through the same situation and he is doing everything possible to make sure that this pension issue attention is given to it so that where you are going to be so that police can benefit better.”
CP Afegbua thanked the retirees saying, “I am going to send your message to the IG and he will see that you people came”.
