BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE
It will be recalled that Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, before the last National Assembly removed the military from the CPS, warned of the dangers and bandwagon effects should the military be removed from the scheme.

NLC at that time argued that other Para-military organizations could start agitating for their removal from the scheme.

Under the aegis of Association of Retired Police Officers, ARPO, the retired Policemen in a petition through their counsel Mr. Olayiwola Afolabi, to both the Police Service Commission, PSC, and the Director – General of the National Pension Commission, cited gross irregularities, financial improprieties and attempts to shortchange them by Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs as reasons why they want to be removed from CPS.

They contended that policemen who served the nation meritoriously ought to be treated humanely and not to be subjected to the harsh treatment as being done by the PFAs.

The retirees argued that there was sanity when police officers were under the old Police Pension Scheme, alleging that they were being shortchanged individually on monthly basis.

According to the petition made available to Pension and You in Benin,  “We were informed by our clients that when they retired and went for their pension, they met a brick wall in the hands of Pension Fund Administrators. It was learnt that the Pension Fund Administrators after calculating their total entitlements which our clients did not know how they arrived at their figures, and forward to PFAs who offered to pay our clients only 25 percent of the entire amount. And the balance would be paid for an interval spanning for a period of 18 years without any interest on the money.

This offer was vehemently refused by our clients as 25 percent is not sufficient for to do anything. Our clients learnt that up to 2010, the PFAs were paying to the retirees 50 percent of their entitlements which our client demanded that they should be treated likewise, but refused.”

The retirees alleged that their entitlements were calculated based on their salaries at the time they registered with PFAs and not according to their salaries at the time of retirement as their salaries have increased since they registered with PFAs.

They added, “In view of the above pitfalls, we humbly seek your urgent intervention to help our clients who have meritoriously served this nation for 35 years to get their retirement benefits in the manner that the money will be useful to them and not the way the Pension Fund Administrators want their lives to degenerate into abject poverty and misery”.