MOD picketing: Peace brokered with protesting military veterans

Dr Ibrahim Kana, Permanent Secretary (PS), Ministry of Defence, has brokered peace with veterans protesting over issues on the Security Debarment Allowance (SDA).

This is contained in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday by Mohammad Abdulkadri, Special Assistant to the Minister of Defence on Media and Publicity.

Kana, according to Abdulkadri, dismissed the allegation that the money had been released and payment was denied the veterans by the authorities of the ministry.

He noted that the Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi was concerned about the plight of the veterans.

The PS also assuaged the fear of the veterans on fresh verification before payment, adding that the existing database of all veterans would be used to administer payment.

“Being the Accounting Officer of the Ministry, I am urging you to give peace a chance and go home. We will get back to you as soon as possible and without delays,” he quoted the PS as saying.

The Chief of Defence Staff General, Leo Irabor, thanked the permanent secretary for resolving the impasse and appreciated the protesters for their peaceful conduct.

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Meanwhile, Spokesperson for the retired veterans, Abiodun Durowaiye-Herbert, attributed the misinformation and insinuations to the communication gap between the them and the ministry.

He said the Permanent Secretary had assured them of free flow of information on the issue.

“The veterans agreed to go back home immediately and have since cleared the barricade to signal the return of peace.”

“They also said they are now better informed than before and promised to work closely with the ministry henceforth.” (NAN)