Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has appealed to the National Assembly to hasten the enactment of a law to improve the welfare of families of dead and retired soldiers.
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Tambuwal’s call came on the heels of a pledge by Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State, to provide N1 million to each member of the armed forces who died in active service in the state.
Both spoke during the 2020 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration held across the country on Wednesday.
Tambuwal said in Sokoto that it was important to address the welfare of armed forces personnel whether dead or alive, to serve as an incentive to those in service to give their all.
He said war veterans had made enormous sacrifices to ensure peace, stability, and progress in the nation.
“I want to assure you that my government would continue to support families of slain war veterans and retired ones, as well as motivate the present soldiers,” he said.
Tambuwal said series of activities were conducted within the week, including an ongoing free medical screening and treatment of ex-servicemen and their families.
”They deserve to be honored by society through sustaining their needs and catering for their families’ health, education, housing, and others.
”Such gestures would motivate the preset servicemen while the retired and deceased families would feel the society appreciate and recognize the sacrifices made by their loved ones,’’ he said.
In Kaduna, El-Rufai pledged to donate N1 million to each family of military and police personnel who died in active service, to support them as they struggle to cope with the death of their breadwinners.
He hailed the contributions of the armed forces to peace in the country and commended their patriotism and commitment to the nation.
“We are still not where we ought to be as there are still remnants disturbing our people, but the armed forces have played very important roles.
“Here in Kaduna, without the Army, Airforce, and Navy supporting the Police, I think the rate of criminality, kidnapping and other forms of banditry would have been out of control,” he said.
He called on Nigerians to appreciate and support the armed forces personnel who are putting their lives in danger so as to ensure peace in the country.
The governor promised to support them with logistics, adding that the state government would soon unveil a new policy to support families of the fallen heroes.
He urged Nigerians to be tolerant of one another, remember their common humanity, de-emphasize differences in ethnicity and religion and work together to make the country economically stronger, so as to create opportunities for people.
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