RETIRED SOLDIERS TO PROTEST UNPAID PENSION ARREARS

Retired soldiers under the aegis of the Ex-Service Men Welfare Association are planning to stage a protest and disrupt the Armed Forces Day activities scheduled for January 15, 2015, checks by our correspondent indicated.
The ex-soldiers’ anger derived from the alleged non-payment of 30-month pension arrears to them.

Sources said the former military personnel would stage the protest to call the attention of President Goodluck Jonathan to alleged persistent refusal of the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay them 30 months of outstanding arrears from the 2010 pension increment.
The ex-service men are said to be angered by the decision of the Federal Government to partially implement the approved percentage increment, which they said was already being paid to their serving counterparts fully.
An ex-service man said, “What was approved for the ex-servicemen was 53 per cent pension increment in 2010 but the Ministry of Finance decided that there was no funds to implement it so they opted to reduce it without consultation to 33 per cent.
“Another thing is that the government has just paid some months leaving over 30 months of even the 33 per cent, citing fall in the price of oil. If there is a fall in the price of oil in the international market, is it pensioners that you suffer for it?
“Our association held a protest on the issue on November 5, 2014, and we held a meeting with the Director General, Budget Office, on November 19, but could not reach an agreement and we were asked to come up with a six-man team for the negotiation.
“We were scheduled to meet with the DG on this issue on December 3, 2014, but the finance ministry made moves to put off the meeting even though we decided to go there with the chairman of the Military Pension Board and his men.
“What we are demanding is that they should pay us at least the arrears for the 33 percent by December 15, or we shall mobilise all our men to stop the next Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebrations because it is nothing but hypocrisy to celebrate the dead and leave the living to suffer. We shall go out there so that they can shoot us and get more dead heroes to celebrate.”
The national leadership of the Ex-Service Men Welfare Association on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to ensure the commencement of the full payment of the 53.37 percent pension increase approved for the ex-service men in 2010.
The demands of the Association were contained in a release signed by Brig. Gen. UH Odokwere, Col. PA Zubair, Col. HI Ikoghode, Capt. CD Roberts, MWO A Agbas and MWO U Samuel, all retired, and obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday.
The leaders of the Association also said that a deduction of 20 percent from the pension increment was illegal as military pensioners were exempted from taxation and that they are not in the National Housing Scheme and the Contributory Pension Scheme.
When our correspondent contacted the Public Relations Officer in charge of the Military Pension Board, Group Capt. Gboko Tsekaa, he said what the pensioners were saying had nothing to do with the board so he declined comment on it.
“What the pensioners are saying has nothing to do with the board so I will not comment on it,” he said.