Some members of the First Admission Able Volunteer Retired or discharged 10 or more years from military service on Wednesday in Ibadan, protested their 44 years of unpaid pensions.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reports that the group led by its National Coordinator, Babawande Philips, took to the streets of Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state, carrying banners with various inscriptions.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reports that among some of the inscriptions on their banners were ’44 years of unpaid pensions to Nigerian Civil War Veterans’ and ‘We are dying in silence’.
Philips, a retired corporal, wondered why his members have continued to suffer over the past 44 years when those who rebelled against the country have been paid.
“We have been so deprived of our pensions for the last 44 years. We have been denied our pensions. We gave our lives for the unity of this nation.
“I wonder why they treat us like this. We want the entire nation to know that we are being deceived.
“Those who fought on the side of Biafra have been paid. Why did they pay them and leave us without paying? We who gave our lives for the unity of this nation,” he said.
He criticized the recent claim that they were not qualified because their service was less than 15 years, saying they wanted to use Decree 102 against him.
The coordinator said that such Decree could not be used against them because it was not used against Biafrans who fought against the country.
“They are claiming that anyone who does not serve up to 15 years is not qualified to receive pensions. They have forgotten that there was a circular that came out in 1977.
“The circular said that every soldier who turns 10 years old or more, but less than 15 years old, is qualified to receive pensions.
“And they would be entitled to 40 percent of their terminal wages. I don’t know if they don’t know about this circular or not,” he said.
Philips said at least 780 of them have yet to be paid, calling on the federal government to heed its wake-up call.
“We call on the Federal Government to give in to our wake-up call. If a person used a day in the war front, he cannot be compared to someone who used a year outside of the war.
“Biafran soldiers were paid in batches and everyone was paid to the last kobo. The last batch was paid for last year, about 112 of them,” he said.
He recounted how they settled an ongoing dispute with the government out of court in 2015 and a new biometric verification was carried out on all of them.
“We have all these documents with us. We have the verification papers, biometrically captured in 2007 and 2015. We all have it with us.
“So, we don’t know the reason why they should keep punishing us. Many of my people are in extreme poverty, many have died,” she said.
Joseph Popoola, the group’s secretary, called on the federal government and Nigerians to help them address their problem.
“It has been tough. We suffer in silence. We call on all Nigerians and the federal government to deal with our problems,” said Mr. Popoola, a retired corporal.
“We have been at this since 2002. We were in court until 2014 when retired Chief Justice Inang Okoro said we should go to the National Industrial Court.
“President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015. Then we were asked to come for the pension board check, which we did. But still, we didn’t hear from them,” he said.
(YAYA)