FOLLOWING the recent revelation by the Inspector General of Police (IGP’s), that the police pension scheme has been reviewed, scores of retired police officers under the aegis of Elders Club of Nigeria, converged at the police officers mess Owerri, capital of Imo State, on Wednesday to applaud the development.

The police boss had said under the review, retired officers would return to monthly pension payment instead of the present PENCOM arrangement.

Addressing reporters in Owerri, the President General of the group, Dr. Moses Ajeka, a retired Superintendent of Police,  along side with a retired Deputy Commissioner of Police, James Ogbonna, chairmen of the group in Enugu and Akwa Ibom, Samuel Okoi (Deputy Superintendent of Police, rtd) and Francis Oyobio (Superintendent of Police, rtd) among others, after a few hours meeting, commended President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President, David Mark and Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, for considering their plight and the call for the withdrawal from PENCOM.

They considered their withdrawal from the PENCOM arrangement and improvement of the welfare of the serving officers as the best thing that has ever happened to them, urging that details of the decision should be communicated to them.

Ajeka regretted that since three years when they began the struggle, they have been earning very meagre monthly pension when they had large amount of money in the coffers of the PENCOM, questioning why the said money should be with the commission until they die.

He called for the modification of  the system of paying retired police officers by creating a body, Police Pension Commission, to look into their payment with a view to paying them enhanced package as opposed to the meagre paid them presently.

The President General of the body said he was paid N28,000 monthly after serving the police meritoriously for 35 years because of PENCOM arrangement.

Said he: “The worst thing that has ever happened to us is what they called PENCOM. How can i be paid N28,000 after serving for 35 years and retired while i have about N4 million under another person’s custody. I don’t have access to it. Many of our members have died. The same to all those who were paid under PENCOM Act of 2004.''

Contributing, Enugu and Akwa Ibom chairmen of the body, Okoi and Oyobio, regretted that they were paid lower than their present position before retirement, almost a peanut of N27,000, amount they said hardly takes care of them and family for a week.