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Angry Military Veterans Block Finance Ministry Over Unpaid Benefits

Published by Tope Fakinlede on December 5th, 2024.

Angry Military Veterans Block Finance Ministry Over Unpaid Benefits

On Thursday, a group of retired military personnel staged a protest at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, demanding the payment of their long-overdue entitlements.

The retirees expressed frustration over the government’s failure to implement a promised salary increment of 20% to 28% from January to November 2024. They also listed several other grievances, including the non-payment of palliatives due from October 2023 to November 2024, an additional N32,000 owed to their pensions, outstanding payments for the Security Debarment Allowance, and the refund of pension deductions from soldiers medically discharged.

In the midst of the protest, the retirees set up sleeping mats, chairs, and canopies as they continued their demonstration.

One of the protest leaders, Col. Innocent Azubuike (retd.), highlighted the severe financial strain caused by the non-payment of these entitlements. He explained that, despite reassurances from the government that the payments would be made in November, the retirees were later informed that the funds were unavailable due to a lack of cash backing.

“We were told that approval had been given for the release of our entitlements, and the only thing left was the availability of funds,” Azubuike said. “We were asked to be patient and assured that the payments would be processed in November. Now, with November passed, there is still no clear timeline for when we will receive what is owed to us, as the issue is now with the Ministry of Finance, not the Ministry Of defence.”