Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Members of the Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Club of Nigeria, Kano State Chapter, have sought the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari in the on-going payment of security debarment allowance to retired officers. They alleged that officers, who retired from service at a date earlier than 2017, were left out of the payment of the said allowance.
Speaking to Saturday Sun in Kano, the Publicity Secretary of the Retired Army, Navy and AirForce Club of Nigeria in the state, Captain Yusuf Abdulmalik (Ret’d), explained that the exclusion of some of their members was contrary to the approval granted by the President on the subject matter in 2018. According to him, President Buhari had approved that the allowance, “is payable to all retired military personnel from all the services” while expressing surprise at they had been excluded from the beneficiaries.
“There was no aspect of the approval that selected or excluded some retired military officers,” he insisted. “It was meant for all military retirees, irrespective of the rank and the year of retirement from the service.”
Captain Abdulmalik revealed that most of their affected retirees are unhappy about the development, adding that some of them are thinking of dragging the matter to court. He appealed to the authorities to reconsider their case, while insisting that, “All military retirees are experiencing the same degree of economic challenges and hardship; none should be treated less or more than the other.” He also appealed to President Buhari to prevail on the payment authorities to immediately extend the payment to all retired military personnel.
When contacted in Abuja, the Public Relations Officer, Military Pension Board, Flight Lieutenant Obasi Okorafor said that his board was not responsible for the payment.