31st March, 2023
By George Odok
Veterans of the Nigerian Army have called for the retirement age of serving personnel to be reconsidered in order to maximise the potential of specialists.
They made the call in a communiqué issued on Friday at the conclusion of the First Quarter Year 2023 Veterans Affairs Seminar and Workshop in Calabar.
Col. Victor Ibeh, Deputy Director, Veterans Affairs Directorate, Army Headquarters, Abuja, read the communiqué, noting that the workshop was designed for retired and soon-to-retire Army personnel.
According to Ibeh, the participants encouraged Nigerian Army veterans to develop positive relationships with their families as part of their pre-retirement plans.
He added that they also urged serving personnel to develop a savings culture in order to have successful retirement plans.
To earn respect in their respective communities, the veterans were tasked with performing community service and respecting community influencers, according to Ibeh.
He mentioned that veterans were encouraged to form cooperative societies in order to gain access to low-interest loans.
“Participant of the workshop agreed to the review of the retirement age of service to maximize the potential of specialists.
“The Nigerian Army should sustain the employment of veterans in overall training and other specialised services as a way of tapping from their wealth of experience in support of Nigerian Army training and operations.
“There is the need for the Federal Government to capture veterans’ activities and programmes in its annual budget. Serving personnel were advised to relate well with Nigerian Army veterans for mutual collaboration and support military operations,” he said.
Speaking, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya said that the Army hierarchy would consider a review of the retirement age for serving personnel.
Represented by Maj. Gen. Abubakar Bello, the army chief said that the workshop was held with a view to see how the Armed Forces can use the veterans to assist them in operations and other capacity building.
“The call for a review of retirement age is a policy issue that would be considered on its merit; it could be, or could not be considered.
“These are issues that are far beyond and a decision cannot be taken at this moment. There is a need for veterans and others to interact which is why we hold this seminar regularly to bridge the gap between serving and retired personnel.
“We are sure that the communique will get the desired attention at the highest level based on its own merit.
“Other considerations will have to come into play like terms and conditions of service of personnel and others. At this stage, it is immature to come out with any figure for the proposed retirement age,” he said.
NAN