The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, alongside other activists, on Monday, joined retired police officers in a protest in Abuja to demand improved welfare and immediate exit from the contributory pension scheme.
The protest, organised by the Nigerian Union of Retired Police Officers, began at the National Assembly Complex with plans to proceed to the Force Headquarters.
The retirees decried the contributory pension scheme as “discriminatory” and “exploitative,” claiming that many of their members have died without receiving adequate retirement benefits.
“Our members are dying in misery,” one of the protesting retirees said. “We are demanding justice and dignity after years of serving this country.”
Despite warnings from the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), the protest continued.
The PCRC had urged the retirees to shelve the protest and return to the negotiation table, warning that the demonstration could be perceived as an attempt to discredit the Inspector-General of Police and the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The protesting retired officers, however, insisted, saying their demands were legitimate and long overdue.
They called on the government to immediately remove all retired police officers from the current pension arrangement and place them on the defined benefit scheme, like their counterparts in the military.
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