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A 70-year-old
military pensioner at the weekend slumped and died on a queue while
waiting to be screened for payment of his pension in Yola the Adamawa
State capital. Retired Staff
Sergeant, Audu, popularly called "Dan Bera," was standing on a
long queue of fellow pensioners when he reportedly collapsed and died on
the spot. Some of his
colleagues told journalists in Yola that the retired sergeant had been
waiting for three days before the incident happened, and that he was not
screened because of the cumbersome nature of the screening exercise. The screening
committee, which carries out the exercise on a monthly basis, according to
sources, was meticulous in its work to ensure that only authentic
pensioners were cleared to collect pensions. Many
pensioners, however, complained that the exercise was tedious, especially
for the elderly ones, and that the large number of pensioners in the state
further worsened the situation. When retired
Sergeant Audu slumped and died, his colleagues reportedly rushed him to
the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, where he was confirmed dead, before
taking his body to his hometown, Gulak, in Madagali local government area
of the state. Daily Trust
was unable to speak to any of his relations, but his colleagues told
journalists that he might have died as a result of stress. Many
pensioners called on the federal government to devise a better way of
paying them their pension without subjecting them to monthly screening
which exposes them to various dangers. Military
pensioners in many parts of the country have been complaining about
difficulties in getting their pensions at various payment centres. A few weeks
ago, a military pensioner in Adamawa State, Alhaji Idris Abubakar Mubi
told Daily Trust in Yola that despite all the sacrifices pensioners made
for the country, the government never showed commitment to paying their
pensions. "Instead
of taking measures to resolve our pension problems the federal government
is devoting its attention to sending our troops to Liberia. We, too, had
served in this kind of peacekeeping operations, but look at it, we can't
even get our pension now," he complained. Alhaji Idris
pleaded with President Olusegun Obasanjo to "listen to the words of
wisdom" and tackle the pension problems of military pensioners. Although the
complaint of neglect by the pensioners has been widespread, the federal
government has also been complaining of the existence of "ghost"
military pensioners who have been causing government huge losses.
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