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Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Enugu State All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Nigerian Legion have decried the neglect of ex-serviceman including former Biafran soldiers.
The party chairman, in his message to commemorate the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, regretted the abandonment of soldiers who laid down their lives in the service of fatherland.
He, therefore, called for a comprehensive and effective mechanism of taking care of ex-servicemen.
“It’s disheartening when you watch these men and women who have spent all their lives in service of the nation live in piggery condition, if they have to invest their entire lives for our security and safety, they should be taken care of,” Nwoye said.
Nwoye admonished the Federal Government to provide funds for ex-servicemen through budgetary allocations to states, instead of begging on their behalf for people to donate money for their welfare.
President of Nigerian Legion, Enugu Chapter, Emeka Igwesi, called for an improvement in the welfare packages for ex-servicemen beginning with enhanced salary structure for those still in service.
He also urged for the harmonisation of pensions of former military personnel.
“When it comes to the harmonisation issue, the arrears are not even paid up till today. The Federal Government has been promising to pay, 2018 came and passed, same with 2019, and we are in 2020 and the issue is still there.
“When it comes to the new minimum wage which the federal workers will receive, a lot of persons thought it was extended to the military, but it was not. The military belongs to another salary scale which is called consolidated armed forces salary structure. So they have their own. So if the government can solve this problem of arrears and minimum wage, it will go a long way in solving these problems. There will no longer be these hues and cries. It will take care of the healthcare of these men. It will take care of those injured in battle and those already weak as a result of old age,” he said.
