The Federal Government has commenced immediate payment of military retirees’ long-overdue allowances.
This followed several hours of protest by the retired military personnel at the entrance to the Ministry of Finance in Abuja on Tuesday, January 7.
Reports indicated that the retirees barricaded the entrance to the ministry with canopies and chairs as early as 7 a.m, preventing staff members from driving into the premises, and forced many to park their vehicles outside.
Recall that this similar action had been held in December, 2024 during which the retirees shut down the ministry over the government’s failure to settle their claims.
For several months, the retirees were told that there were no funds to clear their entitlements, despite official approval for the payments.
Specifically, they are owed a 20% to 28% salary increment covering January to November 2024. The retirees also demanded payments for other outstanding benefits, including palliatives for the period between October 2023 and November 2024.
They also demanded an additional N32,000 added to their pensions, a bulk payment of the Security Debarment Allowance and a refund of pension deductions from the salaries of medically boarded soldiers.
Checks showed that in response to their December protests, the Federal Government only paid 50% of the owed entitlements and promised to settle the balance.
However, the retirees claimed the government failed to fulfill this promise, prompting the resumption of their protests.
A team of police officers from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, other security agencies and senior ministry staff tried to persuade the retirees to call off the protest but their efforts were unsuccessful. The protesters insisted they would only leave upon receiving credit alerts for their entitlements.
Meanwhile, shortly before the protesters began receiving their alerts, the Chairman of the Military Pension Board, Air Vice Marshal Paul Irumheson, addressed the retirees, confirming that the funds for their entitlements had been transferred to the board.
Irumheson said, “We have received the money for the payment of your entitlements, and in the next few minutes, you will start seeing your alerts. We plead with you to leave as we are making efforts to ensure everyone gets paid.”
In an interview with newsmen, the spokesman for the Coalition for Concerned Veterans, Abiodun Durowaiye-Herberts, confirmed that alerts had started coming through.
“Our people have started receiving the alerts. We are now evacuating the ministry headquarters to return to our various homes,” Durowaiye-Herberts said.
Similarly, Aliyu Umar, another leader of the veteran community, also confirmed the development to newsmen, expressing frustration at the government’s earlier claims.
“Yes, we have started receiving our money. They said there was no money—so where did this come from? Do we always have to protest before we are given our entitlements?” he said.
As a result, the retirees started leaving the protest site and dismantled the canopies and chairs they had set up to block the entrance of the Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja.
Daily Trust
