By Abdul Lauya
The Federal Government has once again come under intense scrutiny following what many military veterans describe as a “game of deceit” over the delayed payment of their 2025 minimum wage arrears.
In a press release on June 11, 2025, signed by Sqn Ldr Aliyu Mohammed, spokesman of Military Pensions Board (MPB), he assured all military pensioners nationwide that their outstanding January and February arrears would be “unfailingly paid” on Friday, June 13, due to a public holiday preventing payment on Thursday.
However, when payment commenced as promised, only January arrears were credited to pensioners’ bank accounts, sparking widespread outrage among the veteran community.
This development has reignited accusations of insincerity and manipulation by government agencies, particularly the MPB and the Ministry of Defence, whom veterans accuse of deliberately misleading them.
Across various WhatsApp and Facebook platforms populated by retired military personnel, angry reactions poured in as veterans expressed disappointment and frustration over what they describe as a calculated betrayal.
Veteran Hamlet O. Chinedu, popularly known as HOC, accused the 5-Man Ministerial Committee of complicity, alleging that they knew only one month would be paid but chose to keep it from the public.
“These people deserve to step down,” HOC said, adding that they no longer represent the interest of veterans, a sentiment echoed widely in group chats monitored by Eye Reporters.
The protest mood has intensified, with calls for immediate mass action gaining traction as several veterans openly declared, “PROTEST LOADING!” in reaction to what they see as deliberate shortchanging.
Veteran Ishaya Medugu voiced deeper concerns, accusing the government of using economic hardship and terrorism as smokescreens for widespread looting, illegal mining, and misappropriation of national resources.
“We know what they are doing with the country’s funds,” Medugu said, warning that veterans will no longer accept excuses about national poverty while elites enrich themselves.
Earlier in June, Eye Reporters had documented mounting skepticism when the MPB summoned the leadership of the 5-Man Ministerial Committee for yet another round of closed-door meetings with no tangible updates for pensioners.
Reacting to this, HOC questioned the need for any meetings if funds had already been approved, noting that “to pay two months shortfall arrears, dem go hold meeting?”, a rhetorical jab at what many see as bureaucratic stalling.
There are rising suspicions that the government might cite broader economic constraints, such as the partial wage awards to civil servants as justification for paying only one month’s arrears to veterans.
When Eye Reporters contacted the Spokesperson of the Coalition for Concerned Veterans (CCV), Biodun Durowaiye-Herberts, he said the Chairman of the Military Pensions Board informed him on Friday morning that there are two separate payment mandates prepared for the January and February arrears, and that each will be paid one after the other.
Asked to confirm whether both mandates had been sent to banks simultaneously, Durowaiye-Herberts said he was only aware that the January arrear was being paid first and that February would follow “immediately.”
Eye Reporters had previously published multiple accounts highlighting similar patterns of delayed payments, unclear communication, and growing tension among Nigeria’s ex-service men and women.
In this latest episode, veterans say they feel not only financially shortchanged, but deeply insulted by what appears to be a breach of trust by institutions they once defended with their lives.
As the storm brews, many believe the government’s lack of transparency is not just administrative failure but a dangerous political miscalculation.
The question now is whether the Federal Government will act quickly to remedy the situation, or allow a growing protest movement to boil over into the streets.
