Military to begin electronic verification for veterans

The Military Pension Board has announced that it will start the exercise on Monday, July 1, 2024, for all veterans who served meritoriously in the military.

At a press briefing in Abuja, Chairman Paul Irumheson revealed that the exercise will commence on July 1 and run for three months, concluding on September 30, 2024.

Air Vice Marshal Irumheson explained that the switch from physical to electronic verification was crucial to address the security risks inherent in traveling to different locations.

Air Vice Marshal Irumheson explained that the decision to adopt electronic verification was a response to the security risks associated with physical verification, which required travel to various locations.

The MPB boss told journalists that the pilot test of the exercise that was carried out between February 19 and March 1, 2024 was successful, adding that out of the 2000 pensioners that took part in the exercise, only 15 persons failed.

He, however, said that the little observations noticed through the 15 failed ones have been used to perfect the system.

“You may recall that on Feb 15, 2024, I briefed this honorable press about the MPB intention or plan to move from physical verification exercise to electronic verification exercise for our military retirees.

“On this note, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and the CDS Gen. CG Musa have approved the commencement of the Electronic Verification Exercise for our esteemed Veterans.

“The Board will carry out sufficient public awareness and education that will assist our retired pensioners on how to carry out this verification.

“Therefore, as the Chairman of MPB, I hereby declare the MPB Electronic Verification Exercise officially open on full scale for all our retired pensioners for a period of 3 months from 1 July to 30 September 2024,” he said.

The Board appealed to all retired military officers who are pensioners to actively participate in the electronic verification exercise, warning that those who fail to do so will not receive their pensions going forward.