.. . as picketers vacates Ship House ending hpuse ending Two-Day Barricade
The Chief of Defence Staff General Leo Irabor has thanked the Permanent Secretary, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, for resolving the impasse and appreciated the protesters for their peaceful conduct
SpyeTV News had reported that authorities of the Military Pension’s Board have alerted retired ex-soldiers/military retirees not to fall victims to the purported information making the rounds in the social media claiming that MPB is to commence the verification of retired soldiers and officers on November 26, 2022.
The Pensions Board noted that the purported information was lifted from the website of a media organization which was published five years ago during preparation for verification in 2017.
General Irabor in his word, commended the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Defence Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, who on Tuesday brokered peace with veterans protesting over issues on the Security Debarment Allowance.
In statement signed by the Special Assistant to the Minister of Defence on Nedia and Publicity, Mohammed Abdulkadir, the Permanent Secretary debunked the allegation that the money has been released and payment denied the Veterans by the authorities of the Ministry.
He said, "Being the Accounting Officer of the Ministry, I am urging you to give peace a chance and go home. We will get back to you as soon as possible and without delays."
He pointed out that the Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd) is concerned about their plight.
The Permanent Secretary assuaged the fear of the Veterans on the issue of fresh Verification Exercise before payment stressing that the existing database of all Veterans will be used to administer payment.
The Spokesman of the Retired Veterans, Biodun Durowde Albert attributed the misinformation and insinuations to the Communication gap between the Veterans and the Ministry to which the Permanent Secretary assured them of free flow of information on the issue.
The Veterans agreed to go back home immediately and have since cleared the barricade to signal the return of peace as they said they are now better informed than before and promised to work closely with the Ministry henceforth.
