From Victor Osula, Abuja
Gen Oluyede, COAS
Retired military personnel barricaded the entrance to the Ministry of Finance in Abuja on Tuesday, demanding the full payment of their entitlements.
This protest comes after a similar one in December 2024, when the retirees shut down the ministry to protest the government’s nonpayment of their claims.
The retirees are demanding the payment of unpaid benefits in addition to the 20% to 28% pay increase due from January to November 2024.
These include palliatives between October 2023 and November 2024, an additional N32,000 to their pensions, a bulk payment of the Security Debarment Allowance, and a refund of pension deductions from the salaries of medically boarded soldiers.
President Bola Tinubu had directed the release of funds for the payment of pension arrears, salary increases, and other entitlements owed to the retired military personnel.
Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, who announced the directive in a statement issued on December 6, by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Ministry, Henshaw Ogubike, confirmed that the veterans had already started receiving payment alerts for salary increases.
Speaking Tuesday, the retirees who set up canopies and positioned chairs to block the entrance of the ministry, said despite official approval for payment, no funds were available to pay them.
