Atiku accuses Tinubu of abandoning retired police officers to hardship
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration for neglecting retired police officers, asserting that many of them face financial hardship, illness, and humiliation. He claimed that some currently serving officers are also resorting to depleting their pension funds to support their families.
In a statement released by his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku urged for an immediate review of the Police Exit Bill and a salary increase for active police personnel following a recent pay raise for the Armed Forces.
Atiku shared the experience of a retired police officer who reportedly receives a monthly pension of 29,000 naira. He highlighted the plight of a former Assistant Commissioner of Police who, after years of dedicated service, was compelled to seek menial employment.
He noted that retired police officers and their families recently protested at the National Assembly, advocating for legislation to enhance their welfare. Atiku described the scene, where families gathered outside the legislative building, some children holding signs pleading for better support for their parents.
“Retired police officers stood at the gates of the National Assembly with their wives and children,” he said. “Men and women who have served Nigeria for decades are now waiting for the government to respond to their needs.”
Atiku recounted the words of a retired Assistant Superintendent of Police who questioned how one could survive on a pension of 29,000 naira. The retired officer disclosed that more than 120 members of his association had died in the last three years due to inadequate support.
Atiku also mentioned a retired female Assistant Commissioner of Police who resorted to begging at the Central Mosque in Abuja after struggling to find work. “After years of serving Nigeria, she went looking for employment, willing even to clean for a living,” Atiku said. “One of my media managers found her begging, and we were able to intervene.”
While he expressed relief that assistance was provided to the retired officer, Atiku emphasized that such individual interventions do not substitute for a robust pension system. He questioned why it took a chance encounter for help to be rendered.
“Why did it take a chance meeting for anyone to act?” Atiku asked. “No former officer should have to be discovered in distress before Nigeria acknowledges its obligation to them.”
