Military veterans have blocked the entrance to the Military Pensions Board office in Kubwa, Abuja, protesting alleged irregularities in the implementation of pension adjustments approved by President Bola Tinubu.
The retirees barricaded the entrance with canopies and chairs as early as 8am on Tuesday, demanding a review of the formula used to calculate their pension increases.
Armed soldiers, however, prevented the protesters from accessing the premises.
The demonstration comes weeks after military retirees protested at the Ministry of Defence in September, demanding higher pensions following salary adjustments for serving military personnel.
Veterans accuse board of short-changing retirees
The Coordinator of the Veterans Association of Nigeria, Lt Col Innocent Azubike, accused the Military Pensions Board of adopting a formula that allegedly left some retirees with less than their expected pension adjustments.
Azubike said the protest followed growing discontent among veterans over the implementation of consequential adjustments to their pensions.
He alleged that the board applied different rates to retirees, depending on their ranks and years of service, despite the presidential approval.
“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,” he said.
Azubike claimed that the alleged discrepancies had angered a significant number of military retirees.
“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 added.
Pension adjustment formula sparks fresh protest
The veterans’ grievances centre on how the pension adjustments were calculated and whether the amounts paid adequately reflect the salary increases granted to serving military personnel.
They are demanding a review of the implementation process, arguing that inconsistencies in the criteria have left some retirees with less than they believe they are entitled to receive.
The latest protest highlights continuing tensions over military pensions, weeks after retirees took their grievances to the Ministry of Defence.
The Military Pensions Board had yet to respond to the allegations in the account provided.
