Military Pensions Board: Civil War Veterans not Qualified for Pension

The Military Pensions Board (PMB) said at the weekend that some civil war veterans were not qualified for pension on the ground that they had not worked for 15 years as contained in the Pension Act.

But the veterans under the aegis of First Intake Able Voluntary Retired or Discharged Ten or More Years in Military Service, lamented their exclusion from pension payment by the board, stating that all efforts to get them captured in the board’s payment schedule was unsuccessful.

The board said the veterans, who fought on the side of the Nigerian government during the civil war were not entitled to monthly military pension.

However, veterans, recently accused the federal government of not paying their entitlements since they left the military over 43 years ago.

Speaking in Abuja, Spokesman of the Nigerian Military Pensions Board, Flight Lt Olayinka Lawal, said the retired soldiers did not serve up to the 15 years as stipulated by the Pensions Act and the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for the Armed Forces of Nigeria to qualify for what they were demanding.

“The Military Pensions Board seeks to use this medium to respond and correct the allegation by a group called First Intake Able Voluntary Retired or Discharged Ten or More Years Military Service.

“The group claimed that the board has failed to include them on the pension payroll since they were discharged from the Armed Forces of Nigeria 44 years ago. This is outright misinformation and should be disregarded by the public”, he said.