Retired police officers under the Police Retired Officers Forum, Ogun State chapter, yesterday staged a peaceful protest at the office of Governor Dapo Abiodun in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

The retirees marched through major streets in the state capital, displaying placards with inscriptions such as “We serve Nigeria, we deserve better”, “Tinubu sign our exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme”, and “We want Police Pension Board”.

They said it was time for the executive arm of the Federal Government to sign the bill into law, demanding the exemption of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

The protesters also called for the implementation of the Nigerian Police Pension Board, which is expected to remove the NPF from the CPS and manage, administer and pay retirement benefits, including gratuities and pensions, to serving and retired officers.

They urged President Bola Tinubu to consider the impact of inflation, rising food prices and living conditions worsened by fuel subsidy removal, and assent to the bill to ease economic hardship.

Speaking during the protest, Chairman of the forum in Ogun State, Amodu Jimoh, appealed to the President to sign the bill into law to enable police retirees to enjoy pensions similar to those of the military and Department of State Services (DSS) personnel.

Jimoh said the bill had earlier been presented to former President Muhammadu Buhari, who did not sign it before leaving office, and urged the current administration to address the situation of pensioners struggling to afford food and medication.

He described the CPS as detrimental to retirees and reiterated the demand for the NPF’s exemption, noting that agencies such as the military, DSS and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had been removed from the scheme.

Jimoh said, “We are protesting because our cry has gone on for more than 10 years. The last House of Representatives passed our bill on the exemption of Police from the Contributory Pension Scheme and the creation of the Nigerian Police Pension Board, but President Muhammadu Buhari refused to sign it. We want to be exempted from the Contributory Pension Scheme as they have done for the Military, DSS, EFCC, and create the Nigerian Police Pension Board. The CPS is a fraud.”