News Investigators/ The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has proposed a 200 per cent gratuity and pension for retired police officers as part of the ongoing reforms in the Nigeria Police Force.
Mr Disu told newsmen on Sunday in Abuja that the proposal was before a Presidential Committee, set up to examine police concerns and recommend sustainable solutions.
He said the proposal was to intensify efforts to secure improved retirement benefits for personnel of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and address the longstanding pension challenges.
The I-G also said that the committee was made up of representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
According to him, other representative in the committee are the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, the Budget Office of the Federation and the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
“Under the proposed arrangement, eligible officers can retire on pension benefits linked to their last salaries, alongside the enhanced gratuity.”
Mr Disu said the package was also, expected to address recurring protests by serving officers, seeking to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), a contentious issue within the force.
“The initiative is aimed at resolving the outstanding pension liabilities, provide more adequate retirement benefits and create a more efficient pension administration system.
“It also seeks to cover officers who retired before the new framework takes effect, with provisions to review their benefits in line with the revised terms, rather than limiting reform to future retirees,” he said.
I-G said the intervention of President Bola Tinubu in the police pension crisis had raised expectations among retired officers, who had long complained about inadequate benefits, delayed payments and administrative bottlenecks.
According to him, for many pensioners, timely access to benefits is essential for meeting household expenses and medical bills amid rising living costs.
He said the Federal Government had cleared the backlog of pension payments that previously left some retirees waiting for up to two years and introduced pension increment.
Mr Disu revealed that some of the beneficiaries currently receive almost double of their previous payments.
“Our engagement with the presidency, PenCom and other relevant institutions is seen as important to sustain the NPF reform momentum.
“The committee is expected to recommend measures on outstanding liabilities, funding arrangements and benefit administration.
“It is also, to provide a framework to resolve pension challenges and improve coordination among the institutions responsible for policy, funding and administration,” he said.
He added that the proposal remained subject to the committee’s deliberations, relevant government approvals, funding arrangements and implementation guidelines.
He said the 200 per cent gratuity should not be regarded as approved or existing entitlement, adding that the final outcome would determine whether it would be adopted.
NAN
