Members of the Ex-service men Welfare Association on Tuesday took to the streets of Abuja to protest the non-payment of their pension since 2003.
The ex-service men, who carried placards, started their protest from the Defence Headquarters, where they blocked the entrance, preventing incoming and outgoing vehicles into the building.
Speaking during the protest, coordinator of the group, Col. Ahmed Zubair (retd.), stated that the protest was planned to draw public attention to the plight of the ex-service men, who he pointed out had served the nation judiciously and were owed for it.
He added that it was not fair that after serving the country judiciously most of their lives; they were now faced with the reality of a government that is not only insensitive to their plights but insincere in providing for them.
“We are doing this on behalf of 150,000 retirees. The issue is that we served this country in various capacities when we were young and the constitution guarantees us that when we finish serving, we must be paid certain benefits. Those benefits are being denied us even when it was approved in August 2010.
“At the end of the day, they said that they were going to spread it for three years, which was not negotiated with us. They cannot short change us and now tell us the terms. It is callous of a government, we are the reserve that they would have fallen back to fight the problem in the North-east. We would have gotten in to assist but if you don’t take care for me after I have served this country, you can’t ask me again to come and serve”, he explained.
Zubair stated that they have been called for presentations and talks with the Ministry of Finance and the Defence Headquarters on different occasions adding that even with these, the story had remained the same.
Also speaking, another member of the group, Col. Henry Ikoghode (rtd), stated that so many pensioners have died awaiting their pensions and wondered if they are going to be given their entitlements in their graves.
“It is now following a kind of procedure, it happened at the Ministry of Finance where the Minister even set up a committee and at the end of the day, it came to nothing. We started this present presentation since the 10th of July last year, we highlighted so many things. Unfortunately this is March, up till now, none of our complaints has been addressed.
“These are people who served this nation and you are owing them since 2003. We provided valid documents and nobody seem to be looking at it. All they tell us is that it is now 33 per cent and even that is wrong. You can’t owe someone from 2003 and say that you want to now start paying from 2010.
“We are always peaceful because if we that are experts in offering and managing violence, if we turn violent, Nigeria will be no more that is why we are always protest peacefully. So many pensioners have died awaiting their pensions between then and now, are they going to be given their money in their graves?” he queried.
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