Military Retirees Blow Hot Over Unpaid Entitlements, Plan Protest

Retired members of the Nigerian Armed Forces are threatening to stage a protest in Abuja and state capitals across the country to draw attention to their grievances.
The military retirees, under the auspices of Military Veteran Affairs, in a statement, at the weekend, accused the authorities of being insensitive on their issues, saying that they had no alternative than to embark on the protest.
The veterans listed their grievances to include the failure of the military to pay up three main outstanding entitlements, including the balance of 2017/2018 arrears.
They also demanded the payment of the new minimum wage consequential adjustment as well as its arrears dating from April, 2019, requesting relevant authorities to furnish them with information on the modality for the payment of Security Debarment Allowance.
The retired officers further called on the military authorities for health insurance scheme to cover treatment of service-related injuries and disabilities.
Speaking on efforts to draw attention to their grievances, the veterans’ spokesperson, Abiodun Durowaiye Herbert, said their group met the Director of Veterans Affairs, Maj-Gen L.F. Abdullahi, on July 21.
“We were told by the DVAD of three separate committees that had been set up to look into various areas of veterans welfare even before our letter to the HMOD got to him”, stressing that “our planned action come 1st week of August may stall efforts to get positive results arising from the welfare plans by the current administration”, he said.
“So, I, on behalf of our team, asked the General: ‘How could they set up 3 committees to better our welfare, yet we are not aware of it, and we are also not represented in those 3 committees?’”, he argued.
Nevertheless, he said that mobilisation for the protest, scheduled for August, would continue.