Obasanjo, Reps to meet over N20b military pension
From John-Abba Ogbodo and Pascal Nwige, Abuja
PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo's attention will again be drawn by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the House of Representatives to the lingering crisis over the unpaid N20 billion military pensions.
The Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Oluwole Oke, disclosed this in Abuja yesterday. He said this would be the final time they would meet with the President on the issue.
At an interactive session with retired military top brass and other ranks, Oke said the committee would insist on payment of all arrears due to the pensioners. The retirees urged government to include Biafran soldiers in the pension and gratuity scheme of the armed forces.
He added that he had discussed the issue with the National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Audu Ogbeh who had assured that the party would also take up the issue with the President as a matter of urgency.
"The National Chairman of my party (PDP), Chief Audu Ogbeh, is very worried about this matter. He was in Osogbo and we discussed it and he said we should go ahead and do every thing to resolve this matter. He has assured to use his good offices to take up the matter with the President so that this matter can be resolved once and for all," he said.
He stated: "On our own side, we are prepared to do everything, including begging the President to see that this issue is resolved."
The Administrator of the Directorate of Military Pension (DMP), Group Captain Kashiro Adamu, told the forum that a total of N15.4 billion was required to settle the arrears of military pensions while about N3.9 billion was needed to settle the gratuities of another set of three batches of retirees who just graduated from the Armed Forces Resettlement Centre in Lagos.
He explained that the problem of delay in payment of pension lingered because the N28 billion provided in the 2004 budget could not cater for pension, gratuities and death benefits.
However, Adamu assured that as from July when the deductions which government had been making would stop, the directorate would ensure prompt payment of the monthly pension.
The Secretary-General of Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Officials (RANAO) Club, Col. Bola Ogunsanwo, noted that every plan put together so far had not addressed the problem of the Biafran soldiers who were pardoned by President Obasanjo in 2001.
Ogunsanwo recalled that the Biafran soldiers were said to have been pardoned but the matter was yet to be gazetted.
He, therefore, said RANAC club would want to see a situation where the issue was urgently gazetted so that the soldiers could be brought into the scheme of things while those interested in politics could do so.
The House Committee on Defence may advise the House to request a supplementary budget to address the problem once and for all, according to Oke.
The chairman of the DMP, Group Capt. M. Kashiro who also appeared before the House Defence Committee yesterday, said about N9.1 billion would be required to pay the pension arrears and gratuities owed to retired personnel for the past seven months.
He stated that seven new banks had been selected as regional payment outlets, in replacement of the former banks detailed to handle the payment.
Explaining further, Kahiro stressed that N15.4 billion was the amount required for settlement of pensions and N3.9 for gratuities was still pending. He assured however that pensions for the months of May and June would be paid at the end of July while payment would be made thereafter as at when due. But the Armed Forces will not be in the position to pay gratuities and benefits promptly due to unavailability of funds.
Reeling out statistics on the number of military pensioners in the country, he put the figures at 97,000 persons. These do not include persons who were wounded and discharged from the Armed Forces prior to rendering up to 15 years of military service.
Retired military personnel under this category who have become destitutes on the streets are 13,000 and will not be receiving pensions.`
