By Joy Baba Yesufu
Some members of the Nigerian Military Ex- Service men Welfare Association have threatened to embark on a peaceful protest on 15th January, 2015 and disrupt activities of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day over nonpayment of 30 months of pension arrears.
A statement signed by Col. PA Zubair, Col. HI Ikoghode, MWOs U Samuel and A Agbas said so many pensioners are going through harrowing hardship adding that it was wrong for government to celebrate fallen heroes while their living counterpart are being neglected.
The statement also said the essence of the protest was to draw government and the general public’s attention to their untold hardship.
According to the statement “the military pensioners have continued to face untold hardship as a result of government refusal to pay our outstanding pension arrears since July 2010 to date.
“However, we have been subjected to all forms of deceit from the government and its various organs responsible for the payment of the pension arrears in the annual budget that has not seen the light of the day.
“It is the height of hypocrisy to vote huge sums of money for the fallen heroes every year while the living ones are forgotten and dying of hunger.
“The living heroes are ready to stage a nationwide protest to show the world our plight. No going back on our 53.37% pension arrears based on the correct data”.
The statement further said that government’s refusal to pay or tamper with money they have earned legally was totally unacceptable by the association
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