Defense Minister Irabor pleads with veterans on unpaid benefits
The Federal Government is trying to pay retired military officers’ Security Debarment Allowance, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has pleaded with them to be patient.
Irabor added that the President Muhammadu Buhari had to be kind in order to review the law because retirees who left their jobs before the law went into effect were not eligible to receive the allowance.
Irabor claimed that, rather than criticizing the president for the payment’s delay, it was appropriate to offer praise.
On Saturday night in Abuja, Irabor gave a speech at the 42nd Anniversary Dinner of the 28 Regular Course Welfare Association of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
According to him, a few negative remarks made about the SDA were misinterpreted. While I must commend those of you present for helping to shift the viewpoint of those making these remarks, perhaps those individuals should go to their creator and ask for forgiveness.
The policy that gave rise to this was signed in November 2017 and included a provision to take care of retirees as of that date, which is why I say this. It needed the president’s generosity acting via the minister to take another look at it and decide that everyone who has served in the military in the past should be taken care of. That is both legendary and admirable, in my opinion.
You can read more of such stories at Credible News.
- Nigerian Army Troops Deploy Ten Hilux Vehicles, 7 Armoured Tanks to Attack Obeagu Community, Burn Houses – Community Leaders
- Court Affirms that Buhari Should Fire Army Chief For Being An Ex-Convict
- FG Disproves National Honours Nominees list In Circulation, To Publish Real List Soon
Irabor explained, “The resource allocation, you know, the problems with military operations, the problems with the Table of Organization and Equipment.
The ability to lower our TOE to a manageable level requires resources. You are all aware of the location of our combat effectiveness. It was difficult to gather a total of N132 billion to pay everything at once. It was approved, though, to be processed in three to five years; this has since been changed to three years. It needs some kind of rethinking if some of us who should know better go and urge a few others to protest this.
According to Irabor, “Thank goodness, the cause is being discussed, and the first payment was made earlier this year. I’m using this platform to make a special plea to us about that issue, asking that we lay it to rest believing and trusting those who are implementing it too faithfully to do so.
The 28 Regular Course Welfare Association’s president, Rear Adm. Ndidi Agholor (ret. ), expressed gratitude to the president for reconsidering the policy to take into account those who retired before 2017.
We were very concerned when we weren’t included in the SDA beneficiaries, he continued. This is due to the fact that the allowance’s intent is for the state to cover the cost of our earned competencies and skills upon retirement, preventing us from using them adversely.
Do those who retired before 2017 still have the freedom to use their abilities however they like if it has now become discriminatory? The President’s generosity in altering the debarment policy is appreciated.
You can read more of such stories at Credible News and The Cheer News
