President Muhammadu Buhari has approved
the payment of pension to soldiers, policemen and paramilitary officers
involved in the Biafra war.
The veterans were dismissed from
service for their participation in the war which lasted between 1967
and 1970.
In a statement on Wednesday, the
Pensions Transition Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) announced that
payment will commence on Friday, October 20, in Enugu state.
“The general public would recall that
Nigeria witnessed an ugly civil war between July 1967 and January
1970 and as a result of that unfortunate period in our history, some
members of the armed forces, the Nigeria police and the paramilitary
officers who took part with the secessionist were dismissed from the
service,” the statement read.
“The dismissal of those officers was
commuted to retirement in year 2000 through a presidential amnesty
granted on 29th May, 2000 by the administration of the then President
Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR.
“A verification exercise was
conducted for the pardoned officers by the defunct Police Pension
Office and recently PTAD on one hand and the Police Service
Commission on the other.
“Despite the presidential pardon and
verification of these officers many of them remained unpaid years
after the pardon. However, the present administration under the able
leadership of president, C-in-C of the armed forces, Muhammadu
Buhari, GCFR, has graciously given approval for the payment of
pension entitlements to these officers and their next of kin.
“PTAD is commencing the payment of
pension benefits to the retired war affected police officers on
Friday 20th October, 2017 in Enugu. 162 officers will be payrolled
and 57 Next of Kin who have also not been paid their death benefits
will be paid in the first batch.”
The development comes at a time when
critics have accused Buhari of marginalising the south-east.
source: lai
No comments:
Post a Comment