A large group of retired Nigerian soldiers on Thursday barricaded the entrance of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, protesting what they described as the government’s failure to release funds to the Military Pensions Board (MPB) for the settlement of their outstanding entitlements.
The ex-servicemen said they resorted to the renewed demonstration after officials of the Ministry of Finance failed to honour assurances that their pensions would be cleared by August 10.
According to the Vanguard , the pensioners had earlier suspended a similar protest on August 4, following a meeting with representatives of the Ministries of Defence and Finance. During that engagement, government officials reportedly assured them that the backlog of pension arrears would be paid without further delay.
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One of the protesters, a female veteran popularly known as Mama G, explained that the fresh protest was triggered by what she described as a breach of government’s commitment.
“We are here because the promises made to us were never fulfilled. We had no choice but to return to the streets. This time around, the protest will be massive,” she stated.
In recent years, retired Nigerian soldiers have staged several protests in Abuja and other parts of the country, consistently expressing frustration over delays in pension payments and accusing authorities of neglecting their welfare.
As at the time of filing this report, neither the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Headquarters, nor the Military Pensions Board had issued an official response to the renewed protest.
