Retired Nigerian Army personnel, on Friday, charged the Federal Government to have a re-think and review the retirement age of military personnel due to the present economic realities being faced by Nigerians.
The appeal for retirement age review was contained in a communiqué read out at the end of the first quarter 2023 Veterans’ Affairs Workshop held at 13 Brigade Nigerian Army in Calabar, Cross River State.
Part of the communiqué read by Major Mohammed Bello, who is the Director, Veterans Affairs Division in the Ministry of Defence as well as the representative of Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya, stated that there was no definite retirement age yet, stressing that other factors must be given consideration at the highest level before giving a definite age.
“This seminar workshop is for veterans, to see how the Armed forces can use the veterans to assist them in operations and further capacity building in the three services,” he stated.
Bello stressed that though the veterans were at liberty to make their opinions known, adding that the issue of age review is a critical policy issue, which cannot be addressed at the moment as it’s far beyond a decision that can be taken at the event.
“But it, however, shows that there is a need from the veterans. That’s why we hold these seminars.
“So that vacancies that exist in the Service can be filled by the veterans. We are sure that the communiqué would get its deserved attention at the highest level.
“Before we mention age and give you numbers, other considerations would have to be brought into play, terms and conditions of service, it has to be looked at at the highest level. At this stage, it’s still very immature to come up with a figure,” he said.
In a brief interaction with a participant at the workshop, Dr Emeka Ibesi, Enugu State chairman of the Nigerian Legion, he said: “The annual seminar is a very good one and should be sustained, it has brought life back into the activities of persons who retired from the Military.”
