Port Harcourt—Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for his sustained war against Boko Haram, bandits and other terrorists.
He spoke at the Government House, Port Harcourt after the wreath-laying ceremony to mark the 2023 Armed Forces Remembrance Day at Isaac Boro Park, according to the Nation newspaper.
Wike said the best legacies Buhari could leave for the country were the restoration of peace in all troubled geopolitical zones and free and fair elections in February and March.
The governor said: “I commend our President for his sustained efforts at defeating the Boko Haram insurgents and bandits terrorising and destroying our communities in parts of our country.
“The restoration of peace to our troubled geo-political regions and the conduct of free and fair general elections are the best legacies you can live for our country.”
Wike noted that the Armed Forces had also been at war with Boko Haram and other insurgents in the Northwest and Northeast for over 10 years and the “unknown gunmen” in the Southeast.
He said he would continue to pray for President Buhari and other leaders to succeed.
He said: “As leaders, our goal must be one Nigeria, one destiny, and the challenges of building a more fair, inclusive and just society are not beyond us.
“Therefore, I will not relent in my prayers to God to enable Mr President and other leaders of our country to succeed in our mission and commitments to our country.”
Wike said that a grateful country would honour her armed forces’ extraordinary bravery and courage during their service and the sacrifices of their families for the common good.
He said: “We respect them for the dangerous professional path they willingly chose and love them as our children, relations, friends and members of our communities in the nation’s service.
“But they loved us more and even more significantly as fellow Nigerians by risking their lives, health, family and future on the battlefields to defend and protect us from harm’s way in return for almost nothing.
“We owe them a great deal as a nation. We owe them as states. We owe them as a people. Collectively, we owe them a debt we cannot repay.
“Although the much we can do on this day is to extoll their virtues, commemorate their sacrifice and honour their heroic exploits so that they would never be forgotten for putting their lives on the line for us and others to live.
“This calls for prioritising the welfare and wellbeing of the armed forces in and out of service and their families with a concrete social security package, including prompt payment of terminal benefits and some form of economic security for the widows and their underaged children.”
Wike recommended that persons suffering from various health challenges, including post-traumatic stress disorders, should have the best healthcare and attention from the public purse.
He said the state government had redeemed the N50 million pledge it made during the emblem appeal fund lunch.
The governor also donated N100 million on behalf of the state for the economic empowerment of the veteran servicemen.
“I wish to donate the sum of N100 million on behalf of the state government for the economic empowerment of the veteran servicemen from Rivers State.”
