By Gabriel Enogholase
BENIN—Retired Police officers from Edo State, under the aegis of Association of Retired Police Officers, have expressed their desire to be removed from the pension scheme introduced by the Federal Government in 2004 and be returned to the Nigeria Police Pension Scheme.

The retired police pensio-ners, in a letter by their counsel, addressed to both the Police Service Commi-ssion, PSC, under the leadership of Mr. Parry Osayande, and the Director-General of the National Pension Commission, PENCOM, cited gross irregularities, financial improprieties and attempts to shortchange them of their retirement benefits by Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, as reasons why they want to be removed from contributory pension scheme.

They insisted that police-men who served the nation meritoriously ought to be treated humanely and not the harsh treatment meted out to them by the PFAs.

The retirees explained that there was sanity when police officers were under the old Police Pension Scheme. They alleged that they were being shortchanged individually on monthly basis to the tune of several thousands of naira.

They said: “When we went for our pension, we met a brick wall in the hands of Pension Fund Administrators. It was learnt that the Pension Fund Administrators will calculate the total entitle-ments, which we do not know how they arrived at their figures, and use only 25 per cent of the entire amount.”

“The balance would be paid over a period of 18 years without any interest on the money. We rejected this system because the payment will be sufficient for us to do anything.”