Ex-Naval Officers Lament Unpaid Allowances

Some retired personnel of the Nigerian Navy have expressed their displeasure over the nonpayment of their allowances after they left service.

They lamented that despite paying others, the Nigerian Navy was yet to pay their terminal leave and terminal packing allowances.

The retired officers claimed they had written letters to the Chief of Naval Staff to notify him of the owed allowances.

However, the director of Information Naval Headquarters Commodore Adedotun Olukayode Ayo-Vaughan who appealed for calm explained that the said personnel retired between 2019 and 2020 were not captured in the budget for 2021,2022 for such payments.

He, however, said the Naval High Command was exploring ways to settle the personnel.

“They are a group of personnel that were discharged between 2019 and 2020 before the present chief came to office in January 2021.  MAFA documents began to be implemented in 2020 when they left service.

“The allowances mentioned in the document do not apply to them. A case is now being made to the present Chief of naval staff to see how they can do it, a case is being made and the chief of administration and chief of account taking it up with the present chief. 

They were personnel of the Navy and the Navy is not like that,the Navy has paid them their gratuity. This allowance is different from security debarment allowance. We are trying to understand what is at stake and address it in the overall interest of the service. Like I said, something is being done about it so we appeal for their calm.”

In a letter obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday, they urged the CNS to pay up to avoid a ‘historic embarrassment of protest’ at the Naval headquarters.

It partly read, “The leadership of the Coalition Of Concerned Veterans humbly bring to the notice of the Chief of Naval Staff, of two previous letters written on the above subject and regret to observe that nothing practicable has been done to address the issues, despite our visit to the Naval Headquarters to meet with the Director Veterans affairs (NN) and the Chief Of Account and budgeting in June 2022.

“We are not unaware of the great achievements of the Chief Of Naval staff in his quest to reposition the service and better the lots of personnel under his command, but also regret that, some top officials at the Headquarters want to give his administration a bad name in the twilight of his stewardship, despite all efforts as well as unofficially Intervention by top officials of the MOD to address the issue.

“It is not our intention to cause the Chief Of Naval Staff a “his toric embarrassment” of protest to the Naval Headquarters, like we did to the MoD in September, 2022. We hope, reasons will prevail to discourage our assemblage at the Headquarters gate of the Naval complex in a few weeks’ time, if our request/demands are not shortest possible time.“