New Military Pensions Board Chairman vows end to payment delays

By Chuks Oyema-Aziken

Major General Julius Ehioze Osifo has taken over as Chairman of the Military Pensions Board (MPB) from Air Vice Marshal Mikhail Abdulraheem, pledging to end unnecessary delays in the payment of pensions, gratuities, death benefits and arrears to retired military personnel and families of deceased service members.

Osifo made the pledge during the handing-over and taking-over ceremony in Abuja on Wednesday, promising to deploy modern technology, reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks and strengthen administrative processes to ensure beneficiaries receive their entitlements promptly.

The new chairman said military veterans and families of personnel who paid the supreme sacrifice deserved dignity, empathy and timely access to their benefits. Drawing from his experience as the pioneer Chief J8 of Joint Task Force Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, he warned that delays in paying benefits to families of personnel killed in action could undermine troop morale and compound the suffering of bereaved families.

He identified technology-driven processes, proactive identification of beneficiaries, improved staff capacity and stronger collaboration with government institutions as key strategies for improving the Board’s performance. He also pledged to strengthen engagement with Defence Headquarters, Service Headquarters, the Ministry of Defence, National Assembly committees on defence and other relevant agencies.

Osifo promised to promote professionalism, accountability and teamwork within the Board, stressing that motivated personnel were essential to achieving its mandate. He assured retired personnel and families of deceased service members that their welfare would remain a priority under his leadership.

He expressed gratitude to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, for the confidence reposed in him, while acknowledging the support of the Chief of Defence Staff and the Minister of Defence. He pledged to justify his appointment by repositioning the Board for efficient and transparent delivery of benefits to military veterans and families of fallen heroes.

Osifo becomes the 26th officer to lead the institution, which was established in 1974 as the Directorate of Military Pensions and restructured as the Military Pensions Board in 2003. The Board moved to its permanent headquarters at Dutse Alhaji, Abuja, in 2011.

In his valedictory remarks, the outgoing chairman, Abdulraheem, thanked the Board’s officers, soldiers and civilian staff for their cooperation and commitment during his tenure, describing the achievements recorded as collective successes.

He urged the personnel to extend the same support to his successor, stressing that the Board’s mandate required unity, innovation and dedication to the welfare of military pensioners and their next-of-kin. Abdulraheem expressed confidence in Osifo’s ability to lead the institution and wished him a successful tenure.

Before his appointment, Osifo served as Director-General of the Nigerian Army Finance Corporation. His previous appointments include Deputy Defence Attaché at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, from 2012 to 2015; Director of Finance at the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, Oshodi; and Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration. He also served as Deputy Director of Accounts at the Military Pensions Board in 2018.

Osifo joined the Nigerian Defence Academy as a cadet of the 42 Regular Course in August 1990, graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Finance Corps in September 1995. He holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Jos and a PhD in Finance from Swiss Management University, Switzerland.

His doctoral research examined defence budgeting and military operational capacity in Africa, using Nigeria as a case study. He has also conducted research on terrorism financing and the cost of war, presenting his findings at local and international conferences.

Osifo serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Ibadan’s Institute of Peace, Security and Humanitarian Studies, where he teaches conflict management, security and defence finance. He is also an alumnus of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, where he attended Senior Executive Course 39 in 2017, and has undertaken several military and professional courses in Nigeria and abroad.

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