Victor EzejaFormer Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has decried poor attention paid to welfare of military veterans in the country.
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 elections, in a solidarity message to mark this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day on Saturday, noted that the veterans can’t be repaid for their supreme sacrifice but their welfare should be treated as priority by any government in power
A statement issued through Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, noted that laying down one’s life in defence of country and fellow citizens is the highest act of patriotism and sacrifice.
He said, “soldiers lose life and limb in the course of serving their country,” adding that, “Nigeria owes them a debt of eternal gratitude for their immeasurable sacrifices.”
Atiku who was also a Presidential candidate in the 2019 election, advised the people in government to always give priority to the payment of pensions and other entitlements of military veterans as at when due.
According to him, “it is embarrassing why our veterans should be allowed to be sleeping in the open to protest the nonpayment of their pensions.”
He also urged the government to “streamline the payment system of our veterans to avoid the humiliation of recourse to protest non-payment of their entitlements.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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