Retired Soldiers Demand Independent Audit As Pension Dispute Deepens
By JOANNA ILUSANMI
NIGERIAN military veterans have threatened to resume protests on Thursday over alleged discrepancies in their pension payments, escalating a dispute with the Military Pensions Board over the calculation of recent increases.
The retirees blocked access to the board’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday to press their demands. They maintain that pension adjustments linked to salary increases for serving military personnel were not calculated correctly, leaving some former service members convinced that they received less than they were entitled to.
However, the Military Pensions Board maintains that it calculated and paid the increases in accordance with approved rates and applicable laws. The conflicting positions have placed the calculation process under scrutiny, although the available information does not independently establish whether the payments were incorrect.
Consequently, the veterans are demanding a comprehensive review of the pension calculations, an independent audit and the payment of any outstanding arrears identified. They argue that transparent verification is necessary to resolve the dispute and establish whether the affected retirees received their full entitlements.
As the threat of another protest raises the prospect of renewed disruption at the board’s headquarters, the central issue remains whether the disputed adjustments complied with the applicable pension rules and accurately reflected the increases due to eligible veterans.
A transparent reconciliation of the relevant salary adjustments, pension rates and individual payment records could help establish the facts. Until that review takes place, however, the veterans’ allegations and the board’s defence remain competing positions in an unresolved dispute.
