Retired Ex-servicemen barricaded the entrance of the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters on Thursday in Abuja, protesting non-payment of their entitlements.
The pensioners arrived at the Federal Ministry gate as early as 7:30 am with sleeping mats, chairs, canopies, and loudspeakers playing music, insisting that they would not leave the vicinity until their demands were met.
They accused the Federal Government of not paying them a 20 per cent to 28 per cent salary increment from January to November 2024.
The leader of the protesting retirees, Innocent Azubuike, a retired Colonel, while addressing journalists after they locked up the entrance of the ministry, said non-payment of their entitlements had caused untold hardship for them.
Azubuike said the Defence Ministry had concluded its part and was ready for payment, noting that all necessary approvals had been given.
He highlighted that cash-back of those approvals is what remains, reiterating that they would continue to remain on the protest ground until their demands are met by the government.
According to him, their demands include the owed palliative payments from October 2023 to November 2024 and the payment of an additional N32,000 to their pensions.
Others are refunds of deductions made from the pensions of medically boarded soldiers and bulk payment of the Security Debarment Allowance, among several other demands.
The retired senior officer said they had waited for 11 months for their dues before they resorted to protest and stressed
that despite assurances that their entitlements would be cleared in November, they were informed that the payments could not be made due to a lack of cash backing.
He said, “We were told to exercise patience and assured that our long-unpaid entitlements would be settled in November. November is gone, and there is no indication of when this will happen because it’s a matter with the Federal Ministry of Finance and not the Ministry of Defence.”
On Wednesday, another group of retired military personnel under the aegis of the Ex-Servicemen and Family Welfare Association of Nigeria also held a rally to demand payment of pension arrears.
Anthony Agbas, President of the Ex-Servicemen and Family Welfare Association of Nigeria, pleaded with the government to pay all their pension arrears and other entitlements.
He lamented that over the years, military pensioners in the country had endured financial hardship and pain.
He said, “We were told the money has been approved for a long time, but we have not received anything. Our requests are payment of our palliatives and their arrears from October 2023 to November 2024; payment of the 20 to 28 per cent salary increment and its arrears from January to November.
“We also request the payment of the N32,000 flat rate and its arrears from July to November, the payment of the new National Minimum Wage increment, and the arrears from July to November, among others,” he said.
The protest is the second at the Ministry within a month, as civilian pensioners recently staged a similar protest, blocking the same gate until the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, addressed them.
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