Stop Protest To Protect Nigeria’s Image, Magashi To Ex-Soldiers
The Minister of Defence Bashir Magashi has advised the leadership of the Coalition of Concerned Veterans against staging further protests to demand payments of Security Debarment Allowance and other entitlements.
The retired military personnel had on Wednesday stormed the Ministry of Finance Headquarters to demand payment for their owed allowances.
They vowed to picket the ministries of finance and defence on January 15, a day set aside to mark the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, if their demands were not met.
But Magashi, during a meeting with the leadership of the coalition at the Ministry of Defence headquarters in Abuja, stated that embarking on the protest was not the best option, adding that the mood of the nation did not call for such action.
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This was contained in a statement on Saturday by the Special Assistant to the Minister of Defence on Media and Publicity, Mohammad Abdulkadri.
The minister warned that further protests on the matter would send a wrong signal to the international community.
The statement titled, ‘Minister of Defence to protesting veterans: Stop protest, consider national mood,’ read in part, “The minister said protest is not the best option and the solution to their grievances with the government especially at this period in time when the mood of the nation does not call for such action.
“The minister assured them of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s (retd.), continuous commitment towards mitigating their plights. He said the recommendations by the various committees he set up to look into their demands have undergone several exhaustive stages that will culminate into Implementation as applicable.
“The defence minister who is also a member of the retired Veteran Generals warned against fueling chaotic situations capable of sending wrong signals to the International Communities and called for enduring patience pointing out that their agitations are not beyond amicable resolutions.