Breaking: Retired Soldiers Shut Down Ministry of Finance Headquarters
- Ex-servicemen took to the Ministry of Finance Headquarters on Monday, August 4, and barricaded the main gate of the building
- The aggrieved retired soldiers were demanding the immediate payment of their statutory gratuities and entitlements
- Although there was a heavy security presence but the protesters barricaded the building and vowed not to leave the premises until their demands were met
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Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
Scores of retired soldiers who voluntarily exited the Nigerian Army have shut down the main entrance to the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance.
Source: Facebook
Reports making the rounds on Monday, August 4, indicated that the soldiers staged a protest, the third within seven months.
The presence of heavy security personnel drawn from the military, police and the Department of State Services (DSS) was present to prevent breakdown of law and order.
As reported by Daily Trust, one of the leaders of the protesters, Staff Sergeant Simon Ipwu, cited the non-payment of their gratuities, Security Debarment Allowance (SDA), insurance, parking allowance, and salary shortfall as the reasons for the protest.
He vowed that they would continue to lock the ministry’s headquarters until their demands were met.
Source: Facebook
Ipwu said:
“We’re here because of the money we’re supposed to be paid. We wrote for voluntary disengagement because of the army’s attitude towards our work. There is a lot of mischief.
“We wrote different letters to various quarters and we copied different offices – Army, Defence, Finance, DSS, police and many other offices like that of which we agreed with them that we should give the chance of last two weeks.
“We gave them the chance. We’re thinking that by now, they might have answered us but up till now, they didn’t answer us.”
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Appolonia Anele, a Lieutenant Colonel, is yet to react to the development as of the time of filing this report.
Interestingly, a few weeks ago, retired police officers stormed the Force Headquarters, Abuja, over what they described as “killing contributory pension scheme.”
3 brothers join army, 1 killed in service
In another development, Legit.ng reported that the family of three brothers serving in the Nigerian Army were thrown into deep sorrow as one of them recently passed away.
One of the surviving brothers released crucial details of his younger brother, a 30-year-old soldier, alongside his photos on his social media page.
Nigerians reacted differently as the soldier confirmed that the young man was tragically killed in a gun battle.
Read more about the army here:
- Troops kill over 300 top bandit leaders as Ribadu declares: "You must lay down your arms"
- Soldiers nab suspected terrorists from Niger Republic, kill several others
- Drama as soldiers bar traditionalists from Awujale’s Muslim funeral
Army expected to recruit 13,000 personnel
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the chief of army staff, Lieutenant-General Olufemi Oluyede, said the Nigerian Army was expecting about 13,000 new personnel.
Oluyede said the Nigerian Army remained challenged in terms of operational efficiency and lacks the resources to provide accommodation for soldiers.
The Army boss made some demands when the Senate Committee on Army, led by its chairman, Sen. Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, visited the Army Headquarters, Abuja.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
