Ex-Service Men Shelve Planned Protest Over Non-Payment of Pension Arrears

The Association of Ex-Service Pensioners has shelved the plans by a group of military retirees to embark on a protest as a result of non-payment of pension arrears and harmonisation of the salary review.

The President of the Association, Col.  Ahmed Zubair (rtd), said at a press briefing on Tuesday in Abuja,  that the ex-military pensioners had dialogued with the Federal Government through the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), and presented their case to them.

Zubair who was in the company of the National Coordinator of the Association, Col. Henry Ikoghode (rtd),  said that they gave the federal government a list of the areas to take adequate action to remedy the pension anomalies pointed out by the military retirees.

He said that those who had planned to embark on the protest were “ill-informed” and that no group should claim to be speaking or acting on behalf of the entire military pensioners.

“It is therefore illogical for any group to start embarking on any form of protests now that the Government appears to be taking genuine steps towards solving the Military Pensions Problem,” he said.

He listed some prayers of the ex-service pensioners to the government through the DHQ, which are:  “pay the military pensioners the balance of 20.37% which was illegally deducted from their original 53.37% pension increment during the implementation of CONAFSS 2010; carry out harmonisation with effect from HAFSS 2003 salary review which took effect from October 1,2003.