Over a hundred retired soldiers took to the streets of Benin City, Edo State yesterday, September 10, over alleged non-payment of the 2010, 53 per cent increase in their pension by the Federal Government.
According to Vanguard report, the ex-service men warned that they may resort to guerrilla warfare if the implementation of the consolidated military salary of the ex-service men was not urgently paid and their action will be worse than that of the dreaded Boko Haram sect.
They said: “We are here to call the attention of the Federal Government to our plight. We have been deprived of our rights, we fought the civil war at our youthful age but today, this administration has forgotten us, and our people are dying, so we have been pushed to the wall.
“We need the money except they want us to go to the bush and begin a guerrilla war but we believe in the Nigeria project but if they push us to the wall, we may have to do that.”
The protest was led by the National Secretary of Association of Military Pensioners, Patrick Okpaiyo.
The retired soldiers expressed regret that the government had neglected them after they fought courageously for the survival and unity of the country.
President Goodluck Jonathan, in June, 2010 approved the released of the sum of N23 billion as part of arrears owed to115,000 pensioners since 2003.
The salary structures of Nigerian Armed Forces (both serving and retired personnel) are normally reviewed after every five years.
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