Retired Police officers in Taraba State are protesting over the non-payment of their pension and other entitlements due to them by the Federal Government.
The retired police officers who marched through the streets of Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, carrying different placards and terminated at the office of the Secretary to the Taraba Government, say they want the Contributory Pension Scheme scrapped or that they should be exited from it.
Led by Retired Superintendent of Police Gardner Nicholas, they lamented that other security agencies were removed from the pension scheme, but wondered why the police were left there despite their appeals and complaints.
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“The scheme is that of neglect and has terminated the lives of our members, and we are still dying”, he said.
“We want the Federal Government, the states, and local governments to join hands in removing the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme.
” The police force is a leading security agency in Nigeria, and from fighting armed robbery to fighting insurgency, kidnapping, banditry, and a whole lot, we fight it jointly with our sister security agencies.
“At a certain point, other security agencies were removed from the scheme, and we are happy for them. If they do not want the security of this country to cripple completely, we will plead, sooner or soonest, if we are not removed, there will be a negative change in the security of this country.
” We want you to sympathize with us, we have been fighting since 2015, we appeared in the senate, attended three separate public hearings, and our public hearing reports were swept under the carpet.
“We suspect also a compromise between the PENCOM and the National Assembly, and we now believe that since they’re not forthcoming, we have decided to carry our cross and present our demands to the state government for onward presentation to the federal government”.
While receiving their complaint letters, the Permanent Secretary, Home Affairs and Special Duties, Constantine Joel, on behalf of the Secretary to the Taraba Government, assured them of tabling their complaints to the appropriate authority for action.
“I sympathize with you, and I do not know why they did not remove the Nigeria Police Force from the pension scheme”, he said.
Source: Channels TV
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