Retired police officers’ association in Bauchi State has staged a protest demanding their immediate exclusion from the police pension scheme like other security organisations.
The protest is coming even as the Vice President Yemi Osibanjo is expected to visit the state Tuesday.
Chairman of the police retirees, Abdullahi Bakeri, while briefing journalists at NUJ Secretariat on Tuesday, claimed that the police pension scheme is a fraud, and an attempt to deprive the retirees.
“It’s unfortunate that police retirees have been abandoned to the dustbin compared to what other security retirees enjoyed monthly as pension yet FG has failed to exclude police retirees from such scheme that is fraudulent,” he said.
Bakeri lamented that police retirees’ children are now street urchins since their parents cannot pay school fees with a take-home of N20,000 monthly pension.
He added that many of their members have died due to diseases they cannot cure, while their pension contributions are lying with pension managers.
The association demanded justice, and called for the intervention of the Federal Government, as well as national and state legislatures.
“We have severally pleaded with the NASS intervention yet nothing is done to address our grievances, where did FG want us to take our plea since we cannot afford three square meal,” Bakeri said.
The protest, according to the chairman, was staged to coincide with the Vice President’s visit to Bauchi to inform the Federal Government of their demands for justice over their plights after failed attempts at getting solutions.
“We blame the police authorities for all our challenges. We blamed them for the poor and paltry monthly pension we receive. We want Federal Government’s intervention,” the chairman said.
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