Entitlements: Ex-soldiers shut down Finance Ministry

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief & Kingsley Omonobi

ABUJA—A group of retired soldiers shut down the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, yesterday, while protesting the non-payment of their gratuity, Security Debarment Allowance, SDA, and other entitlements.

The protest, which began at about 7 a.m., left ministry workers stranded for hours, as they were unable to access their offices as the aggrieved ex-servicemen, comprising men and women, demanded the immediate release of their outstanding allowances.

The angry protesters carried placards with messages such as: “We are 1st and 2nd Quarter Retirees of NA 2003. We are living heroes and deserve to be recognized and treated right—not celebrated as fallen heroes when we are no more,” and “We the voluntary discharged soldiers of 2024 demand full payment of our benefits, including shortfalls in gratuity, SDA, parking allowance and four months’ salary cuts.”

They claimed to be members of Voluntary Discharged Soldiers, who retired from the Nigerian Army in the first two quarters of 2024.

The angry protesters barricaded the main gate of the ministry and prevented the staff and management of the ministry from gaining access to their offices.

The ex-soldiers insisted on the immediate payment of their gratuities, unpaid salaries, pension and wage award palliative, while threatening to occupy the ministry until their demands were met.

Many of the protesters appeared in military camouflage, chanting solidarity songs and holding placards that bore messages, expressing their frustration over what they termed “long period of neglect after serving the nation.”

One of the protesters, who gave his name as Sgt Idris Usman told journalists: “Our disengagement was done formally through the system, yet they’re now telling us we’re not entitled to minimum wage adjustments or palliatives because we left in July.”

The ex-soldiers claimed that after jeopardising their lives for the nation, all they received was abandonment and that they had been patient enough for the Federal Government.

According to another protesters, Corporal Umar Faruq (retd), a key grievance is the MPB’s alleged claim that they are not entitled to the new national minimum wage because they were discharged on July 1, 2024.

Chairman of the Military Pensions Board, MPB, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Adamu, and several other senior military officers tried to persuade the protesters but the appeals fell on deaf ears.

Later, top officials of the Ministry of Finance arrived the gate to invite representatives of the retirees, along with the MPB Chairman, to a closed-door meeting to address their concerns.

There was no official statement by either the ministry or the Military Pension Board at the end of the meeting, but it was gathered that the government officials appealed to the ex-soldiers to give some time to liaise with the board in order to find a solution to their grievances.

Soldiers and other security operatives have been deployed to guard the ministry.

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