On Thursday, retired military personnel staged a protest at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, demanding the payment of their long-overdue entitlements.
The retirees voiced their grievances over the non-payment of a 20% to 28% salary increment from January to November 2024.
They also called for the settlement of several other outstanding payments, including palliatives from October 2023 to November 2024, an additional N32,000 pension increase, bulk payment of the Security Debarment Allowance, and a refund of deductions from the pensions of medically boarded soldiers.
To demonstrate their resolve, the protesters set up sleeping mats, chairs, and canopies at the ministry’s premises.
Col. Innocent Azubuike (retd.), one of the protest leaders, expressed frustration over the continued delay in the payment of entitlements, describing the situation as one of extreme hardship for military pensioners.
He explained that despite previous assurances that their entitlements would be cleared by November, they were told the payments could not be processed due to a lack of cash backing.
“We were assured that approval had been granted for the payment, and all that remained was cash backing. We were asked to be patient, but November has passed, and there’s no sign of when the payments will be made,” Azubuike stated.
He clarified that the delay was related to the Ministry of Finance, not the Ministry of Defence.
