Retired military personnel, on Monday barricaded the entrance to the Ministry of Finance in Abuja to protest non payment of their entitlements.
The retirees are owed 20 to 28 per cent salary increment covering January to November 2024.
The protest by senior citizens followed a similar action in December, during which they shut down the ministry over the government’s failure to settle their claims.
This is as the Chairman, Military Pensions Board (MPB), Air Vice Marshal Paul Irumheson, confirmed the receipt of the 50 per cent balance of the pension arrears of the military retirees from the federal government.
For months, the retirees were told there were no funds to clear their entitlements, despite an official approval for payment.
The retirees are also demanding payments for other outstanding benefits, including: palliatives for the period between October 2023 and November 2024, 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.
In response to their December protests, the federal government paid 50% of the owed entitlements and promised to settle the balance.
However, the retirees claim the government has failed to fulfill its promise, prompting the resumption of their protests.
At the Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja, the retirees erected canopies and placed chairs to block the gate, effectively preventing staff from driving into the premises, forcing many to park their vehicles outside.
However, in a swift reaction the Chairman, Military Pensions Board (MPB), Air Vice Marshal Paul Irumheson, yesterday confirmed the receipt of the 50 per cent balance of the pension arrears of the military retirees from the federal government.
Irumheson made this confirmation while addressing protesting military veterans at the headquarters of Ministry of Finance on Tuesday in Abuja.
He urged the protesters to shelve the protest, assuring them that they would start receiving the arrears any moment.
According to him, the payment was being processed at the bank.
“I assure you that any moment from now you will begin to receive your alerts,” he said.