From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
A group of military pensioners have appealed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to look into the books of the Military Pension Board with a view of determining why their monthly payment is always shorter than what was approved by the Federal government.
Publicity Secretary, Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Club of Nigeria, Kano State Chapter, Captain Yusuf Abdulmalik (rtd) held in an interview in Kano, that their members, including some retired Generals, are alarmed at the variance between the approved figure and what they eventually get paid at the end of the month.
He alleged that the board was also in the habit of taking so long to implement their approved adjustment, pointing out that sometimes the bulk of the accrued arrears end up not being paid in full.
He cited with bitterness the 53 percent upward review in 2012, which he said took years to implement, adding that only 30 percent of the arrears of said adjustment was eventually implemented even as he noted that it was paid by installment. .
He also cited the adjustment in April, 2019, which was only implemented in May 2021, while noting that the payment they received from this adjustment, last week, was short of the amount that was penciled down for them on paper.
The retired military pensioners appealed to those responsible for this variance to desist from their act of commission or omission while observing that the economic situation in the country is so enormously hard on pensioners.
Speaking further, he extended their condolences to the families of the deceased Chief of Army Staff, the Late General Ibrahim Attahiru and the rest of the Generals that died in the tragic plane crash in Kaduna last week, praying Allah for the repose of their souls of the departed as well as to grant the relatives the fortitude to bear the loss.
The retired military officers tasked the new Chief of Army Staff, Major – General Faruk Yahaya to tap from their wealth of experience in the fight against insurgency and other security problems bedeviling the country at the moment while saying that both as individuals and a group, they are always willing to contribute their quota to national development and to the survival of the Nigeria state.
