There was tension in Kubwa, Abuja, on Tuesday as retired military personnel sealed off the Military Pensions Board office over what they described as a flawed and unjust implementation of approved pension increments.
The veterans arrived as early as 8:00 a.m., mounting canopies and chairs to barricade the entrance and prevent movement in and out of the facility.
Their action was to demand a review of how the consequential adjustment to pensions approved by President Bola Tinubu was calculated.
At the centre of the protest is the method adopted by the board to compute the new payments, which the retirees say does not align with the salary review granted to personnel still in service.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Coordinator of the Veterans Association of Nigeria, Lt Col Innocent Azubike (retd.), alleged that the board introduced a discriminatory payment structure that reduced entitlements based on years of service and rank.
He explained that some retirees with fewer years in service were told they would receive only a fraction of the increase they expected, while even those who completed 35 years of service were allegedly not paid the amount they believed they were entitled to.
“In the lower categories of your rank, because of the lesser number of years of service, they say, ‘This 80% the president approved for you; you cannot get it. You can only get 40.’ And they said, ‘This one that put 35 years, you will not get that 80%. We’ve only given 90%. This one is obnoxious and very provocative. We haven’t seen it before. We raised issues, and they were trying to put up some defence,” Azubike said.
According to him, the development has triggered widespread resentment among former servicemen, with many feeling short-changed despite the presidential approval for higher pensions.
“I can tell you that over 90 per cent of military veterans and retirees are very angry, but these guys are not moved. Now, this is one aspect of the short payment. The other aspect of the short payment is that even the criteria they claimed to have used were not uniform. Out of every 10 people, maybe four or five were done on that criteria. Others have been paid far less than they were entitled to. There has been so much anger and bitterness within the community,” he noted.
The retirees are insisting on a uniform and transparent formula that reflects the approved adjustment without arbitrary cuts.
