…as Eno donates N125m to widows of fallen soldiers
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, on Monday, commended the gallantry of serving Nigerian military officers and fallen heroes for protecting the nation.
Sanwo-Olu gave the commendation during the 2024 Armed Forces Remembrance Day parade and wreath laying ceremony, held at The Remembrance Arcade, Tafawa Balewa Square, in honour of fallen heroes.
According to him, the government will continue to appreciate and encourage the armed forces.
The governor said the occasion had become a “National Day to pray for the departed souls, the incapacitated security personnel and serving military officers, their families and Nigeria”.
“It is a day to continue to remember them, to remember their families and the loved ones that they left behind. We will continue to pray for the repose of the souls of the fallen heroes.
“We will continue to commit their families into God’s Hands.
“It is a significant day wherein the government, if not all Nigerians, appreciate all of their efforts and what they have done; and for the serving officers to know that the country will continue to appreciate their gallant works, even while they are alive or even when they pass on,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu said the event was an opportunity to appreciate the efforts of fallen heroes and security personnel.
“It is an occasion where the nation comes together to recognise and acknowledge all of our fallen heroes, our gallant soldiers that have indeed, served this country in one form or the other for decades, as well as protected it,” he said.
Highlights of the event were the gun salutes, the release of white pigeons, as well an a-minute silence observed in honour of the fallen heroes.
Also, prayers were offered for the soldiers, as well as members of the armed forces, their families, Lagos State government and Nigeria.
In Akwa Ibom, Governor Umo Eno announced donations of N100 million and N25 million to the widows of fallen soldiers and legionaries in the state, respectively.
He announced the donations during the celebration of the Armed Forces/Remembrance Day in Uyo.
Eno, who spoke of the moment he lost his father, an officer of the Nigeria Police in the line of duty, and how his mother was saddled with the challenging task of raising five boys and a girl, saluted the sacrifices made by the fallen heroes and heroines of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“As we honour these brave men and women, let us collectively shun tendencies that inflame passions in our polity.
“Let us celebrate our diversity and see the differences as reflected in the rainbow of our colours as a source of strength rather than weakness to be exploited for narrow individual or group’s advantage.
“Let us lower the temperature of incendiary and divisive rhetoric, let us address the root causes of social tensions in our polity, which today, have given rise to separatist agitations all over the nation.”
