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Defence HQ orders protesting retired soldiers to vacate Ministry of Finance
The Defence Headquarters has ordered protesting retired soldiers at the Federal Ministry of Finance Headquarters in Abuja to vacate the premises.
Retired soldiers who voluntarily exited the Nigerian Army in 2024, returned to streets after last month’s protest over unpaid benefits.
The protesters lamented what they described as the government’s failure to pay their entitlements, saying they had been neglected for too long.
But reacting to their demonstration, the Director, Defence Media Operations, Markus Kanye, said the aggrieved former soldiers have already been educated.
He explained that the agitation stemmed from the introduction of two separate salary charts for military personnel in 2024, following the implementation of the new minimum wage.
According to him, a pre-minimum wage chart” was in effect between January 1 and July 28, 2024, while the “minimum wage chart” took effect from July 29, 2024, and remains applicable.
The senior military officer said, “The actions of these protesting soldiers are seriously affecting the smooth conduct of activities at the Ministry of Finance.
“While the Defence Headquarters acknowledges the right to legitimate protest, the veterans are strongly advised to tread with caution and vacate the premises of the Federal Ministry of Finance to allow government functions to continue seamlessly.
“This is the message we have been directed to pass on, so that through your medium, our veterans and the Nigerian public can be properly informed.
“Let me reaffirm that the Armed Forces of Nigeria remain fully committed to their constitutional mandate of defending the territorial integrity of our great nation, supporting civil authorities in maintaining internal security, and ensuring peace and stability across all regions,” Kangye added.
Kanye noted that gratuity and security debarment allowance for retired personnel are calculated based on the salary chart in effect on the date of retirement.
“Before the implementation of the new minimum wage, there was a chart on which gratuity and security debarment allowance for soldiers was calculated, and later, the minimum wage chart. Essentially, there were two charts in 2024.
“The first, known as the pre-minimum wage chart, was effective from January 1, 2024, to July 28, 2024. I repeat: January 1, 2024, to July 28, 2024. This was the chart used to calculate the emoluments of retired soldiers and other military personnel.
“The second was the minimum wage chart, which took effect from July 29, 2024, and remains applicable to date. Now, the calculation of gratuity and security debarment allowance for military personnel is based on the salary chart in effect on the date of retirement.
“If a soldier retires today, his entitlements will be calculated using the current chart. If another chart is introduced tomorrow, the same soldier’s entitlements will not be recalculated based on the new chart.
“Unfortunately, the soldiers who retired between January 1 and July 28, 2024, before the implementation of the new minimum wage, want their gratuity and allowances calculated based on the new chart. This cannot be done because the policy only came into effect on July 29.
“Those who fall within the pre-minimum wage chart category are the soldiers who have continued to protest and block access to the Federal Ministry of Finance, despite repeated explanations from the Defence Headquarters,” he said.
Kanye maintained that the veterans had been adequately educated on the matter but had continued to stage protests and block access to the Ministry of Finance.
The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, has taken delivery of five new helicopters as the Federal Government steps up efforts to modernise the country’s airpower capabilities and strengthen military operations against security threats.
The platforms comprise three AW-109 Trekker B helicopters manufactured by Leonardo Helicopters of Italy and two H-125 helicopters manufactured by Airbus Helicopters.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, the NAF said the three AW-109s, which are part of 10 recently acquired by the Federal Government, were received in Lagos on September 15, 2026, while the remaining seven are expected to be delivered before the end of the year. The two H-125 helicopters had been delivered earlier.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, said the new helicopters would increase aircraft availability and improve the NAF’s ability to support ongoing military operations.
“The arrival of these five helicopters provides greater flexibility in the employment of airpower in support of ground troops in ongoing operations,” Aneke said.
He said the AW-109 Trekker B helicopters would enhance the NAF’s capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, close air support, armed escort, combat search and rescue, and other joint operations.
Aneke added that the H-125 helicopters would provide light helicopter support for various operational requirements.
The new platforms are undergoing post-delivery assembly and technical and crew-readiness processes ahead of their induction and operationalisation.
Aneke said the increased rotary-wing capacity would strengthen support for joint forces conducting operations against terrorism, kidnapping and banditry.
He said the NAF would also prioritise maintenance and logistics support to ensure the new aircraft remain available for operations.
The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term in office, declaring that there will be “no vacancy” in the Presidential Villa, Abuja for the next four or five years.
Oba Akiolu gave the support when the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, led members of the council on a courtesy visit to his palace in Lagos on Monday.
The monarch urged politicians to approach the 2027 General Elections with responsibility and ensure that the electoral process is peaceful and serves the interests of Nigerians.
Oba Akiolu cautioned members of the campaign council against actions capable of undermining the peace and stability of the country, even as he urged them to uphold honesty and shun the Machiavellian principle that the end justifies the means.
Speaking, the Director-General of the Campaign Council, Yari, said the delegation was in Lagos to seek the monarch’s blessings, prayers and counsel as the council begins its nationwide campaign activities ahead of the 2027 polls.
Yari said the APC believed President Tinubu deserved a second term to consolidate his administration’s efforts in the areas of the economy, security and infrastructure.
The Campaign D-G, while acknowledging the economic difficulties facing Nigerians, appealed for continued support for the president, saying APC leaders from the North would work to secure strong backing for Tinubu’s re-election across the region.
Receiving the delegation, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, described the visit as significant, noting that the council had made the Oba’s palace one of its early stops following its engagement with the Sokoto Caliphate.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said the visit underscored Lagos’ strategic importance to Nigeria’s political process, describing the state as the country’s commercial and economic nerve centre as well as a major political hub.
The visit was attended by Lagos APC leaders, local government chairmen, members of the National Assembly, state lawmakers and other party stakeholders.
Former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Alhaji Mohammed Mani, has been endorsed as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Niger state
Alhaji Mani replaces Abubakar Sulaiman, who was elected at the PDP primary last May.
Sulaiman voluntarily withdrawn from the position in the interest of the peace unity and progress of the party.
The endorsement of the former FIRS boss for the governorship contest was made by PDP stakeholders from across the state at the state party secretariat.
Addressing the stakeholders, Alhaji Mani promised to deliver the state to the PDP in next year’s election and solicited the support of party faithful for the realisation of the objective.
The new PDP candidate had earlier contested for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress(APC) which Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago got by “ consensus.”
He was among the APC aspirants who lost in the primary election and recently defected to the PDP.
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