The Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) has faulted the Police Pension Board Bill recently passed by the National Assembly; describing it as retrogressive and unsustainable.
PenOp’s Chief Executive Officer, Oguche Agudah who faulted the passage of the bill in a statement said, the bill would take the industry back to the dark ages of defined benefits scheme.
Justifying the association’s position, Oguche said, “The Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) which Is in operation currently is very transparent. There is clear visibility into the amount of retirement benefits disbursed by all the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs). In contrast, other pension schemes operated in the past, outside of this framework, lack such transparency. The police are pushing to go back to this non-transparent system”.
He argued that “the withdrawal of the police from the CPS would entail a shift back to the defined benefits scheme, leading to the dismantling of the institutions, systems, and processes that the government had established to manage pensions effectively. This reversal is highly counterproductive and undermines the progress made thus far”.
He explicated that the passage of the bill would only add more financial burden on the government through unsustainable pension obligations that have already been made provision for through a private sector-managed pension scheme.
He added that “unwinding investments destabilize the financial system, diminishes assets, and jeopardizes the retirees themselves. Moreover, it disrupts fiscal policy and creates an unstable financial system”.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba has commended the National Assembly for the passage of the Police Pension Board Bill and the Nigeria Police Force College, Training School and Institution (Establishment) Bill.
The IGP who gave the commendation during a press conference at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, expressed optimism that the passage of the two bills would redefine the act of policing in the country.
He said, the bills would standardize the training capacity of the force, enhance police productivity and address the reoccurring pension-related hardship.
