Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has taken a swipe at the federal government, describing the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for police officers as a “fraudulent Ponzi scheme” that must be scrapped immediately.
Speaking during a solidarity appearance at a protest by retired police officers in Abuja, Sowore condemned the pension structure as exploitative and inhumane. He accused the administrators of the scheme of enriching themselves at the expense of poor and retired officers who risked their lives to serve the nation.
“The CPS is actually a contributory Ponzi scheme,” Sowore declared. “You cannot take from people who have worked hard, invest their money, and then pay yourself higher salaries than the contributors. That is fraud—absolute fraud.”
He argued that the government’s continued insistence on keeping police officers under the scheme was proof of systemic injustice, noting that other security agencies such as the military, DSS, and EFCC had been exempted.
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“Why is it that soldiers and other security agencies have been removed from the scheme, but police officers are left to suffer?” Sowore questioned. “It simply shows that the government does not rate the Nigerian Police.”
The protesters, mostly retired officers, lamented that many of their colleagues had died from frustration and poverty linked to the pension scheme. They said the monthly stipends they receive are too small to survive on after 35 years of service.
One of the retirees, retired DSP Ilasu Ali, alleged that over 10,000 retired officers have died from hardship caused by the contributory pension system. “Some cannot feed, some cannot pay their children’s school fees, and many are lying sick because of this wicked policy,” he said.
They called on President Bola Tinubu to issue an executive order removing the police from the CPS, as he did for senior police officers in the rank of AIG and above. The protesters vowed not to leave the National Assembly until their demands are met.
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Sowore backed their call, urging the president to act swiftly. “If this scheme is not scrapped, the government is laying the foundation for national insecurity,” he warned. “A demoralized police force cannot protect the country.”
The protest, which has continued for several days, highlights the growing tension between the government and the nation’s security retirees over what many describe as a failed and fraudulent pension system.
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