Respite may finally be on the way for retired police officers as the long-awaited Pension Reform Bill 2025—designed to formally remove the Nigeria Police Force from the contributory pension scheme—could be passed today.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, dropped the hint during a meeting with members of the Police Retired Officers’ Forum (PROF), who have held weeks of peaceful protests at the National Assembly over their pension grievances.
Akpabio noted that with all other security agencies already exempted from the contributory pension scheme, it was only fair for police officers to receive similar treatment. He commended their decades of sacrifice, describing them as the backbone of Nigeria’s internal security.
Following sustained agitation led by PROF National Coordinator, Chief Superintendent of Police Raphael Irowainu (rtd), the House of Representatives recently passed the amendment bill and forwarded it to the Senate for concurrence.
At the meeting, Akpabio assured the retirees that all obstacles hindering the bill’s passage would be cleared. He hinted that the Senate could pass the bill as early as today, with members of PROF expected at plenary.
This conciliatory move came after the retired officers were initially denied access into the National Assembly Complex. They were eventually let in after the spokesman of the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, intervened.
Rotimi praised the retirees for dedicating 35 years of their lives to safeguarding the nation. He described their current pension earnings as inadequate and dehumanising, insisting they deserve far better.
He also apologised on behalf of the National Assembly for the delay in attending to them, which caused their prolonged presence at the Assembly gate from September 29 to November 25.
Rotimi urged the retirees to return to their various states, assuring them that both chambers of the National Assembly are working swiftly to harmonise the bill and transmit it to the President for assent without delay.
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