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African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has lambasted President Bola Tinubu over the alleged neglect of retired police officers in the country.
Atiku, who is also a former Vice President, accused the President of allegedly abandoning “retired police officers to hunger, illness and humiliation while serving officers draw down their pension savings to feed their families.”
The former Vice President, in a statement by the Director of Strategic Communication
ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, demanded an immediate answer on the Police Exit Bill and an urgent salary review for serving police officers, following the pay increase approved for members of the Armed Forces by the government recently.
The Police Exit Bill, which is seeking to remove police from the Contributory Pension Scheme and establish the Nigeria Police Force Pension Board, to manage the pension of police personnel was passed by the National Assembly, earlier in the year and transmitted to the President for assent.
Atiku, while decrying the hardship retired police personnel are going through noted that officers, stated that Nigeria must be able to cater for officers, who served the country with their strength and their years.
According to him, “retired police officers stood at the gates of the National Assembly with their wives and children. Some of those children carried placards pleading for a law that could help their parents survive. Men and women who answered Nigeria’s call for decades are now waiting outside its legislature for Nigeria to answer theirs.
“A retired Assistant Superintendent of Police sat with me and told me his monthly pension is ₦29,000. ‘What would you even buy with ₦29,000?’ he asked. He said more than 120 members of his association of retired officers have died in the last three years. Bola, sit with these officers. Look them in the eye. Tell them how you expect them to live.
“I have not been able to stop thinking about a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police. After years of serving Nigeria, she went looking for work and said she would even clean to survive. One of my media managers later found her begging at the Central Mosque in Abuja. He came straight to me, and we intervened.”
He added “in Bauchi, the retired Assistant Superintendent saw a former colleague gathering firewood to sell so he could buy food. People still called out to him, ‘Officer.’ Imagine bearing that title after a lifetime of service while searching for your next meal. Nigeria remembers his uniform but has forgotten the man inside it.
“I know serving police officers who have withdrawn 25% of their meagre pension savings to feed their children. Under Tinubu, the price of food, transport and medicine has risen beyond what their salaries can bear. Their pay cannot sustain them today, so they are spending the money meant to protect them tomorrow.
“Tinubu made life expensive, and even the officers he sends to confront armed criminals are being pushed into poverty. We ask them to risk their lives for Nigeria while they wonder how to feed their families and whether their country will stand by them when their service ends. That is a disgrace.”
Atiku, who noted that the “Police Exit Bill” was sent to President Tinubu in March, stated that Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution ( as amended) gave him thirty days to either assent or decline assent. Consequently, he challenged the National Assembly to disclose the status of the bill.
“The National Assembly must publish the bill’s formal status, demand an explanation for the delay and determine the constitutional steps now available. If a vote is required, hold it openly. Let every legislator’s name stand beside the decision. These officers enforced Nigeria’s laws for decades. They should not have to beg outside the legislature for its members to act.
“If this government will not end this disgrace, I will act when I assume office in May 2027. My Police Dignity Guarantee Plan will begin with what Nigeria already owes. We will audit and settle verified pension arrears and gratuity claims against published payment dates. We will establish a pension floor and review it as the cost of living changes. No one who spent decades protecting Nigeria should have to sell firewood to eat or beg to buy medicine.
“We will provide insured healthcare for officers in service and in retirement. An officer injured in the line of duty will receive treatment. A retiree living with paralysis will not be left to pay for care from a pension that cannot feed him. Families of officers killed in service will receive timely support. And when illness prevents an officer from travelling, verification will come to that officer’s home. Sickness must never become a reason to withhold what someone has earned.
“We will review police pay so serving officers can feed their families without drawing down their pension savings. Before retirement, every officer will receive a clear record of contributions and entitlements, a named contact to resolve disputes, and a dependable payment date. We will provide for the Guarantee in the budget and publish what has been paid,” he stated.
