Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde has promised that his administration would continue to attend to the needs of fallen heroes and heroines in the state while taking care of maimed soldiers, their children, widows and dependents.
The governor stated this at the launch of the 2022 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration at the House of Chiefs, Parliament Building, Secretariat, Ibadan, yesterday.
Makinde, represented by his deputy, Rauf Olaniyan, said nothing was too much to give in support the heroes and heroines or the families they left behind.
He launched the 2022 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration emblem with the sum of N3million.
He also appealed to corporate organisations, industrialists, commercial firms, philanthropists, and individuals to donate generously to the Armed Forces Remembrance Emblem Appeal Week Fund.
“On the part of the state government, we will be ready to attend to your needs. As widows and widowers, we have to attend to them and give succour to their needs. It may interest you to know that some of us here have tasted the heart of the war and the effect of internal insecurity, and we cannot claim ignorance as though we don’t know what happened to those people who were affected.
“Symbolically, for us in the South West, it could be easier for us to forget the effect of civil war but it won’t be like that with people in the South East. This is an occasion for good Samaritans, philanthropists among us to donate to the need of those that were affected.”
Oyo State Chairman, Nigerian Legion, Ogunkojo Adeyemi, appreciated the Makinde-led administration for the positive and genuine disposition to issues of the Nigerian Legion.
The week-long remembrance activities include the launching of emblem appeal week, special prayers in churches, mosques, the honouring of veterans, and empowerment of widows and people with disabilities.