Scores of retired military personnel on Thursday morning stormed the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance and shut down the place over non-payment of their entitlements by the government.
The retirees, who arrived at the protesting ground as early as 7:30am with sleeping mats, chairs and canopies, accused the federal government of not paying them a 20% to 28% salary increment from January to November 2024.
Daily Trust reports that the fresh protest came less than 12 hours after another group of retired military personnel under the aegis of Ex-Service Men and Family Welfare Association of Nigeria also held a rally to demand payment of pension arrears.
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Addressing journalists after they locked up the entrance of the ministry, the leader of the protesting retirees, Innocent Azubuike, a retired Colonel said non-payment of their entitlements had caused untold hardship for them.
When asked why they took their protest to the Ministry of Finance instead of defence ministry, Azubuike said the latter had concluded its part, saying all necessary approvals had been given.
He said what remains is the cash-back of those approvals, insisting that they would continue to remain on the protest ground until their demands are met by the government.
Their demands, according to the Colonel, include their owed payments for palliatives from October 2023 to November 2024 and the payment of an additional N32,000 to their pensions.
Others are bulk payment of the Security Debarment Allowance, and a refund of deductions made from the pensions of medically boarded soldiers, among several other demands.
He said they had waited for 11 months for their dues before they resorted to protest.
The retired senior officer said 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.
“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 FMoF and not the Ministry of Defence.”
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