Military retirees end protest as FG pays entitlements
Following veterans’ repeated objections, the federal government began paying retired military people their long-overdue benefits on Tuesday.
The ex-military personnel who gathered outside the Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday began receiving payment notices from the protest site.
As a result, they began departing the protest site and demolishing the canopies and chairs they had erected to block the entrance to the Ministry of Finance headquarters.
The retirees barred the entrance to the Ministry of Finance in Abuja around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, using canopies and chairs to demand full payment of their benefits.
Their actions blocked employees from driving into the building, forcing several to park their automobiles outside.
This protest follows a similar move in December, when retirees shut down the ministry due to the government’s refusal to resolve their claims.
Despite official clearance for the payments, retirees were advised for months that there were insufficient cash to cover their pensions.
They are due a 20% to 28% wage increase from January to November 2024.
The retirees also demanded payment for other outstanding benefits, such as palliatives for the period October 2023 to November 2024, an additional N32,000 added to their pensions, a lump sum payment of the Security Debarment Allowance, and a refund of pension deductions from medically boarded soldiers’ salaries.
In response to their December protests, the Federal Government paid 50% of the outstanding claims and vowed to pay the remainder.
However, the retirees alleged that the administration failed to keep its word, forcing them to resume their protests on Tuesday.
A team of police officers from the Federal Capital Territory, other security agencies, and top ministry staff attempted to persuade the retirees to call off the demonstration, but were unsuccessful.
The demonstrators claimed that they would depart only after receiving credit alerts for their entitlements.
Shortly before the protesters received their notifications, Air Vice Marshal Paul Irumheson, Chairman of the Military Pension Board, addressed the retirees to confirm that the monies for their entitlements had been transferred to the board.
He stated, “We have received the funds for the payment of your entitlements, and you will begin receiving alerts within the next few minutes. We implore you to go since we are working hard to ensure that everyone is compensated.
Abiodun Durowaiye-Herberts, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Concerned Veterans, verified that alerts had begun to be sent out.
“Our employees have begun receiving the warnings. “We are now evacuating the ministry headquarters to return to our respective homes,” he stated.
Another seasoned community leader, Chief Aliyu Umar, verified the situation to our correspondent, expressing anger with the government’s earlier statements.
He replied, “Yes, we have begun receiving our money. They claimed there was no money; so where did this come from? Do we always have to protest before receiving our entitlements?