The Federal Government has unveiled an Electronic Verification Management System for military retirees.
The Chairman of the Military Pensions Board, Air Vice Marshal Paul Irumheson, while speaking with journalists during the launching of the system in Abuja on Thursday, explained that continuing with the physical verification exercise had become difficult due to factors such as the high cost of transportation, and security risks, among others.
The system will replace the Military Pensions Board’s traditional physical verification process for veterans to access their pensions, gratuities, and other benefits.
Retirees’ complaints about the difficult physical verification process, stating that it was challenging for them due to their advanced age prompted the introduction of the electronic system
He pointed out that over 11,000 retirees distributed across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory would participate in the testing phase, starting on February 19.
Irumheson said, “Continuing with the physical verification exercise has become difficult due to factors such as the old age of our esteemed pensioners, the high cost of transportation, the security risks associated with travelling by road, and the financial burden of travelling down to Nigeria for pensioners residing abroad, among others.
“To ease the process of future verification exercises and sustain the integrity of the pension database, the Military Pensions Board has developed a system for the electronic verification of pensioners.
“The Electronic Verification Management System is a web-based system designed to enable pensioners to carry out their verification from the comfort of their locations using a mobile device.
“The board would commence the deployment of the electronic verification application with a pilot test in which 300 pensioners drawn from each of the 36 states of the federation would test the application. The pilot test will take place from February 19 to March 1, 2024”.
Irumheson revealed further that pensioners would be required to download the Military Pensions Board Electronic Verification Application from the Google Play Store, for Android Phone users, or the AppStore, for iPhone users.
He then admonished retirees against sharing their ATM details, adding that such information was unnecessary for the verification exercise.
