11th January, 2016
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has declared that the welfare of families of slain military personnel and surviving retired military personnel should be given top priority by relevant authorities.
Speaking during an inter-denominational Church Service at Saint Thomas Anglican Church to mark this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day, Wike said that the nation needs to cater for all serving and retired military personnel who have sacrificed to protect others in the country.
He noted that it is important to always celebrate the soldiers who lost their lives defending the nation while others were pursuing their personal endeavours.
“If we see what is happening in the northeast, then we will always appreciate these military personnel anytime we see them.
“If you see people who have volunteered to join the security forces when others are scared of making the sacrifice, we need to pray for them”.
The governor said that he is aware that the Federal Government is working hard to ensure that military pensioners are paid their entitlements as at when due.
He added that all pensioners deserve to be paid regularly. He said that in Rivers State, he has made the payment of pensioners and civil servants a top priority, pointing out that he has cleared the seven months pension arrears he inherited and paid the civil pensioners up to November, 2015.
Wike said that his administration will never relegate the payment of salaries and pensions to the background because workers and pensioners require their entitlements to run their families.
In his sermon, Archbishop Ignatius Kattey of the Niger Delta Province of Anglican Communion, urged the Federal Government to always take measures to improve on the welfare of military personnel and pensioners.
The Service attracted top government officials, service commanders in Rivers State, retired and serving officers and men of the armed forces.