Sowore kicks
A retired Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Esther Marcos, has expressed frustration over the meagre monthly pension she receives from the Federal Government each month.
Marcos shared her pension ordeal in a video posted today on X (formerly Twitter) by Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC).
In the video, the retired DSP shed light on the challenges faced by Nigerian police retirees under the controversial contributory pension scheme.
Marcos disclosed that she retired on November 1,2018, after 35 years of service, receiving a gratuity of just N1.7 million and a monthly pension of only N40,000.
She further revealed that since her retirement, she has attended numerous meetings concerning her pension, questioning the necessity of the process.
She said, “My name is Esther Marcos, a retired DSP in the Nigerian Police Force. I retired on November 1, 2018. I just want to use myself as a case study and it applies to every other police officer under this dirty contributory pension scheme. So, I’m using myself as a case study. After serving for 35 years, I joined the Nigerian Police Force at a very young age.
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“I didn’t go there to join, I led my friend there but unfortunately she’s not taken I was recruited due to my height because I was tall, but I was not up to sixteen years of age when I joined and when I retired in 2018, I waited for like a year plus, and I was given N1.7m after 35 years. After waiting for another three months or so, they started paying me 40,000 as my monthly pension.”
Reacting to the video, Sowore questioned the government’s decision to pay Marcos such an amount after 35 years of service.
The Ondo-born politician highlighted that Senators are paid N29 million monthly, while the police, who risk their lives, receive a mere pittance.
He tweeted, “How on earth is anyone who worked for 35 years paid N1.7m ($1,100) as gratuity? This is a retired DSP of Police speaking about her pension and gratuity after retiring from the Nigerian Police Force, this is so sad!
“Nigeria does nothing but evil to its workers. It is the same country where a Senator takes home N29 million per month, but the irony is that these Police officers will kill you in a heartbeat for fighting the system that oppresses us all!”
