Unpaid Entitlements: Finance Officials Meet Protesting Ex-soldiers

Retired soldiers who protested at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja suspended their action following a meeting with ministry officials, who assured them their outstanding entitlements would be paid by Friday.

One of the protest leaders, who identified herself as Mama G, told journalists after the meeting that they would wait until the end of the week before taking further action.

“They promised to pay us by Friday. We are giving them the benefit of the doubt. If we don’t get our alerts, we will reinforce massively here,” she said.

Mama G, a retired sergeant, lamented the amount paid to her after 20 years of service, describing it as inadequate.

“I am sad. After 20 years of wasting my youth, they paid me N3.7 million. I don’t know what I will use that kind of money for in this country at this time. Let the government help us collect our full rights and entitlements,” she said.

Another protester, Corporal Eze, said the protest was to demand their legitimate entitlements and avoid resorting to desperate measures.

“We don’t want to commit any atrocity. We want the federal government to do what is needed. We are not asking for anything extra,” he said.

He added that over 700 personnel had yet to receive their payments for the first to fourth quarters and had been patient for a year.

“If they fail to pay, we may not return here. We may go to another length that the government will not be happy with,” he warned.

Also, retired Sergeant Abdul Rasheed Isiaka said many were discharged in 2023 with disengagement dates reading February 2024, but were only paid half their gratuities.

“We are demanding our full payment of gratuity now. There is also an SDA and parking allowance, which have not been paid. Our salaries were stopped just three months after terminal leave,” he said.

Isiaka noted that several letters had been written to the Defence Headquarters, the Ministry of Finance, and other relevant offices, warning that they would stage a protest if payments were not made by August 4, 2024.

He added that injustice forced him out of service. “In 2015, I started building a house, and to this day, that house remains incomplete. I didn’t want to turn to crime to survive. Out of 35 years, I served 13 before I left. The injustice in the system was too much.”

Earlier on Monday, a group of angry retired military personnel, including both men and women, barricaded the main gate of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja to protest the non-payment of their statutory entitlements.

The ex-servicemen, some in military camouflage, demanded the immediate payment of outstanding shortfalls in their Gratuity, Security Debarment Allowance (SDA), and Parking Allowance.

One of the protest leaders, Retired Corporal Umar Faruq, who identified as an engineer, lamented what he described as the authorities’ “deliberate neglect.”

He disclosed that the Military Pensions Board informed them they are not entitled to the new national minimum wage adjustments, citing their disengagement date of July 1, 2024, as the basis.

“This is unacceptable. We gave our best years to the nation. Many of us are suffering while the system continues to deny us what is rightfully ours,” Faruq stated.

The protest temporarily disrupted official activities at the Finance Ministry, drawing the attention of passersby and security operatives.

As of press time, neither the Ministry of Finance nor the Military Pensions Board had issued an official statement.