5th December 2024
By Idris Buba
The military retirees who have accused the Federal Government of not paying them a 20% to 28% salary increment from January to November 2024 coupled with other unpaid entitlements on Thursday, shut down activities at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja.
The retirees and also demanding for their owed payments for palliatives from October 2023 to November 2024, the payment of an additional N32,000 to their pensions, the bulk payment of the Security Debarment Allowance, and a refund of deductions made from the pensions of medically boarded soldiers, among others
Speaking to journalists, one of the leaders of the group, Col. Innocent Azubuike (retd.), lamented the plight of military pensioners, noting that their unpaid entitlements had brought untold hardships on them.
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He explained that despite earlier assurances that their entitlements would be cleared in November, they were later informed that the payments could not be made due to a lack of cash backing.
According to Azubuike, “We were told approval has been secured for the payment of our entitlements. The only thing remaining is 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 Federal Ministry of Finance and not the Ministry of Defence.”
The military retirees brought sleeping mats, chairs and canopies to the protest ground.
