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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Police retirees pressure Tinubu over pension bill

From The Punch · (just now) English Critical tone

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Retired police officers are protesting in Abuja, demanding President Tinubu sign the Police Exit Bill to remove the force from the Contributory Pension Scheme.
  • They warned that failure to sign the bill could cost Tinubu their votes in future elections.
  • The protesters, who have been demonstrating for days, vow to continue until the bill is signed, citing the removal of other security agencies from the scheme.

Hundreds of retired police officers converged in Abuja, staging a protest to pressure President Bola Tinubu into signing the Police Exit Bill. This crucial legislation aims to exempt the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), a move the retirees argue is long overdue and essential for their welfare.

We are calling on President Bola Tinubu to sign our bill as a matter of urgency.

— CSP Raphael Irowainu (retd.)The National Coordinator of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria urged the President to sign the Police Exit Bill.

Leading the demonstration under the banner of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria, the retirees issued a stern warning: President Tinubu risks losing their bloc votes if he fails to assent to the bill. National Coordinator CSP Raphael Irowainu (retd.) emphasized that millions of retirees nationwide are significant stakeholders whose votes will be cast judiciously to determine their future.

We will use our votes judiciously and those of our families to determine our future in the coming elections.

— CSP Raphael Irowainu (retd.)The retirees warned President Tinubu about the potential loss of their votes if the bill is not signed.

The protesters, many of whom bear the physical and emotional scars of their service, including bullets lodged in their bodies, described the CPS as "fraudulent, illegal, inhumane and obnoxious." They highlighted that other major security agencies, such as the military, DSS, Air Force, Navy, and NIA, have already been successfully removed from the scheme, questioning why the police are being excluded. "When in service, they kill us. We who survived and managed to retire, they programme us to die again," Irowainu lamented, underscoring the dire financial and health challenges many face post-retirement.

When in service, they kill us. We who survived and managed to retire, they programme us to die again.

— CSP Raphael Irowainu (retd.)The retiree described the hardships faced by retired police officers.

The retirees have vowed to sustain their protest in Abuja until the bill is signed, planning further demonstrations at the airport and the US embassy to amplify their message. The bill, passed by the National Assembly in December 2025 and transmitted to the Presidency in March 2026, awaits presidential assent. The protesters believe that addressing the pension scheme's issues is fundamental to improving the police force and, consequently, enhancing internal security across Nigeria.

We will remain in Abuja until that bill is signed. We will protest at the airport and the US embassy, we will cry out until this bill is signed.

— CSP Raphael Irowainu (retd.)The protesters vowed to continue their demonstration until their demands are met.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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