Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Tension mounted at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday as retired officers of the Nigeria Police Force intensified pressure on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sign into law the long-awaited Police Exit Bill.
The pensioners, alongside their families, staged a protest that saw them block one of the Villa’s gates, drawing attention to what they described as years of neglect under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
Operating under the umbrella of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF), the demonstrators insisted that their continued participation in the CPS is unjust, especially as other security agencies have already been removed from the scheme.
National Coordinator of PROF, retired CSP Raphael Irowainu, said the protest was a last resort to compel presidential action on the bill, which was passed by the National Assembly in December 2025 and forwarded to the Presidency in March 2026.
According to him, signing the bill into law would correct what retirees view as a long-standing imbalance in the welfare structure of Nigeria’s security institutions.
The aggrieved officers argued that the pension system has left many of them in hardship, with some struggling to meet basic needs after years of service. They maintained that exiting the CPS would significantly improve their living conditions and restore dignity to retired personnel.
Monday’s action adds to a series of protests by police retirees, reflecting deepening frustration over delayed reforms and perceived inequities in pension administration across the country’s security agencies.
