Retired Soldiers on Wednesday protested at the Ministry of Defence in Abuja, demanding the inclusion of retired personnel in the consequential adjustment arising from recent salary increases for serving military personnel.

The protesting veterans said the failure to adjust their pensions alongside increases in the salaries of serving personnel had created disparities in retirement benefits, with some newly retired junior personnel allegedly earning more than senior officers who retired years earlier.

The protesters, led by retired Colonel Innocent Azubike, also accused the authorities of excluding pensioners from the fund computation for the implementation of the latest salary increase, which they said was expected to take effect in September.

Azubike said consequential adjustment was a constitutional and legal right of military pensioners, citing the Constitution and the Armed Forces Act.

He said, “The consequential adjustment that is increased in the pension, it’s a constitutional right, it’s in the constitution, it’s in the Armed Forces Act.”

According to him, the disparity had left some long-retired officers receiving pensions comparable to, or lower than, those of personnel who retired more recently.

“The situation is such that, for example, a captain who retired some 10-15 years back, the pension is stagnated. A couple of sergeants who retired recently could be receiving pension higher than that of a captain who retired 10 years back, and they serve the same military,” he said.

Azubike said the problem became more pronounced following the Federal Government’s recent efforts to increase military salaries.

He recalled that President Bola Tinubu approved a salary increase for military and paramilitary personnel in November 2025, but alleged that the increase had not been implemented as of August 2026.

“The military high command at every given occasion keeps thanking the president for the salary increase. November last year, this is August this year, they have not implemented it,” he said.

He added that another pronouncement had placed the minimum wage of serving personnel at about N180,000, but said pensioners were excluded from the computation of funds required to implement the new pay structure.

“If you compute the fund requirement for implementing the most recent increase and you exclude pensioners, you are depriving them of their constitutional and legal right as enshrined in the constitution and the Armed Forces Act,” Azubike said.

The retired colonel said the exclusion would further widen the disparity between older and newer retirees.

He said, “You could see a captain who retired from 15 years, 10 years back. His pension will be the equivalent of a sergeant who retires this year.”

Azubike said the protesters were not asking for special treatment but for the government to recognise what they described as their legal entitlement.

“What we are asking for is that retirees be included in computing the consequential adjustment for the payment of the new rate,” he said.

“They have computed the fund requirement excluding retirees. What we are requesting is that it is not a favour. It is our constitutional and legal right to be included in the computation of funds for the implementation.”

The protesting veterans, however, were denied access to the gate of the Ministry of Defence by serving military officers who said they were acting on “instructions from above.”

The officers did not allow the retired soldiers into the ministry premises but told them that their grievances and messages would be communicated to the appropriate authorities.

Azubike said the veterans deliberately targeted the Ministry of Defence because they believed the ministry had the necessary records and information on both serving personnel and retirees.

“We are convinced that the problem is from the Ministry of Defense because they are the ones that know the man and the figure,” he said.

He added that the ministry already had the details required to account for pensioners when calculating the financial implications of salary adjustments.

“Our details are with them. When they are submitting the number for computing salary increase, they know the number for retirees,” he said.

Azubike said the protesters would continue pressing their demand if the government failed to respond.

“We all go. We are not happy to be here. But when some fellows in the office feel so insensitive to our pains, we are ready to sleep here,” he said.

He warned that the veterans could escalate the protest if their demands were not addressed.

“And if we sleep here two days, if they do not answer us, we will march to the Asokoro gate,” he said, adding that such action would attract the attention of the Presidency.

Another retired soldier, Master Warrant Officer Augustine Duru, said the protesters joined the demonstration because of the economic hardship confronting military retirees after leaving service.

Duru said retired military personnel struggled to access basic necessities, including healthcare, after leaving the service.

“We are the ones that have entered the society and we are getting it hard. Most banks don’t give us loans,” he said.

He also alleged that retired military personnel were excluded from some palliatives provided by the Federal Government to cushion the impact of economic hardship.

“Could you believe civil servants, civilians got those things, but palliative up to today, don’t military retiree got that money,” Duru said.

The retired soldier said healthcare costs had become particularly difficult for retirees, who no longer enjoyed the medical support available to serving personnel.

“Personally, I am sick presently. I find it difficult to go to hospital. Drugs are not friendly,” he said.

Duru said the government needed to address the disparity between the pensions of older retirees and the salaries or pensions of recently retired personnel.

He said, “If by law, if you increase soldier salary, that’s what it’s called. You harmonise it. There will be an adjustment that makes it, it goes in pari passu with the retirees.”

According to him, without such adjustment, junior personnel retiring today could receive more than senior personnel who retired several years earlier despite having served for similar periods.

“As it is now, if it’s not amended or corrected, a corporal that retires today will earn more than a Master Warrant Officer that retired five years ago. Whereas two of them gave Nigerian military 35, 35 years,” he said.

Duru appealed directly to President Tinubu and senior military authorities to intervene.

“We are here crying and begging them, please help us,” he said.

He said the consequences of inadequate pensions could be severe for retirees who had spent decades serving the country.

“It is painful to die within five years or two years or three years after you retired, but you served the military 35 years. But within two years you retire, you die out of hunger,” Duru said.

The veterans maintained that they were seeking the implementation of what they described as their constitutional and legal entitlement to consequential pension adjustment whenever the salaries of serving military personnel were increased. (Daily Trust)