Military pensioners warn FG of possible security breach

[Mirror]

Retired military officers under the auspices of Retired Army, Navy and Airforce Officers, RANAO, have decried the non-payment of their pension since 2010, warning that the situation could result in "more serious security challenges than the nation is facing now."

The retired officers, who handed down the warning in Abuja, yesterday, wondered why three years after President Goodluck Jonathan directed the Minister of Defence to include military pensioners in "any future review," nothing seems to have been done to ensure the payment of their outstanding arrears.

They expressed frustration that nothing is being done to ameliorate their plight, despite several representations and appeals to the Presidency, the National Assembly, as well as other concerned agencies.

While lamenting the fact that this was happening in the face of billions of naira of pension funds reportedly being mismanaged by some pension officials, RANAO warned that it might no longer be able to suppress the agitations of retired officers, discharged soldiers, ratings and Airmen, "from taking these agitations to the street."

In a statement jointly signed at the end of the briefing by Major-General Rabiu Aliyu (retd) and Brigadier-General P. E. Onaghise (retd), both president and secretary general respectively, the association observed that the situation has the potential of negatively affecting the morale of officers and men still in active service.

In the light of this, therefore, they urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, direct relevant agencies to commence the payment of all outstanding arrears that may have accrued since 2010.

This was even as they noted that the ongoing trend was a violation of their constitutionally guaranteed right of entitlement, as enunciated in section 173 (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

National Mirror