Some military pensioners have grounded activities at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja on Thursday over their unpaid entitlements.
The retirees said the Federal Government has not paid them a 20% to 28% increment from January to November 2024.
They said they are also being owed payments for palliatives from October 2023 to November 2024, payment of an additional N32,000 to their pensions, the bulk payment of the Security Debarment Allowance, and a refund of deductions made from the pensions of medically boarded soldiers, among other demands.
The retired military personnel brought sleeping mats, chairs and canopies to the protest ground.
A leader of the group, Col. Innocent Azubuike (retd.), said the military pensioners were facing hard times meeting their basic needs of life, pensioners, stating that their unpaid entitlements had caused untold hardship.
He said despite assurances that their entitlements would be cleared in November, they were informed that the payments could not be made due to a lack of cash backing.
Azubuike said, “We were told that approval has been secured for the payment of our entitlements. The only thing remaining is cash backing.
“We were told to exercise patience and assured that our long-unpaid entitlements would be settled in November. November is gone, and there is no indication of when this will happen because it’s a matter with the FMoF and not the Ministry of Defence.”
