Retirees from the Edo State Civil Service under the state’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) on Tuesday staged a protest, calling on the state government to exit them from the scheme. They lamented that many of them were still receiving as low as N7,000 and N10,000 as monthly pension. The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as “CPS is evil,” “CPS is failing Edo workers and pensioners,” “Mr Governor, save our soul,” “You can do it,” and “Exit us from CPS,” among others. Speaking during the protest at the State House of Assembly, the group’s Chairman, Andrew Asemota, lamented that some pensioners in the state still receive as little as N7,000 and N10,000 monthly after serving the state for 36 years. “We are retirees from the Edo State Civil Service under the state’s Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Today, as a pensioner, I am receiving N45,000 as pension after working for 35 years. Many pensioners are receiving as low as N7,000 and N10,000,” he said. He said the protest was to register their grievances and solicit the support of the House of Assembly and its Speaker, Hon. Yekini Idaiye, to move them out of the contributory pension scheme. “We joined the Edo State Civil Service during the old Bendel State, and in 2017, former governor Godwin Obaseki enacted the Contributory Pension Scheme law and put us in the scheme. Some of us had already put in 28 and 29 years in service,” he said. “We are here to seek your assistance and help us talk to the state governor, Monday Okpebholo, to come to our aid because he is a listening governor who has come to right the wrongs of the past,” he said. Responding, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly assured the group that he would take their message to the governor for a prompt response. He advised the protesters to remain peaceful and law-abiding while expressing their grievances.
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