Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has promised to provide jobs for children of legionnaires in the state civil service.
Fubara stated that he understood that people were looking forward to enjoying an improved personal economy in a peaceful environment, saying his administration would not do anything that would take away such hope from them but work to actualize it.
Fubara made the remarks at the 2024 Armed Forces Emblem Appeal Fund Launching held at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday.
He said that without hope, it would be difficult for anyone to discover reasons to be optimistic, which is why President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda was educational.
He stated, “For us as a government, we believe, understand, and also appreciate that the only thing that keeps a man going is when he has hope. When you don’t have hope as a human being, you are gone.
“The government of today did not make a mistake by christening their mantra, ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’. This hope is what we, as a government, will not take away from you. Rather, we will give you everything to see that there is hope.”
The governor expressed appreciation to the war veterans, both fallen and living, for making invaluable sacrifices that had kept Nigeria as a united country.
Fubara, who identified with the legionnaires, said that as a child of a soldier, he remembered how his late mother used to benefit from such welfare donations made on days like this, and that the governor, on behalf of the state government, launched the emblem with N30m and promised to also redeem previous financial grants made to them.
“It’s support for your children’s education, scholarships, and taking care of your widows too. So, I think when we do that, the problem cannot be completely solved, but somehow we have touched you,” he said.
Dr. Tammy Danagogo, Secretary to the Rivers State Government, said war veterans, both dead and alive, had demonstrated greater love by protecting Nigeria’s territorial sovereignty and ensuring that her citizens lived in peace.
The Chairman of the Rivers State Command of the Nigerian Legion, Area Controller General Rev.Canon Charles Hart, stated that the emblem appeal launch event kicked off the 2024 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration to honor military officers who had paid the ultimate price while enthroning and sustaining Nigeria’s peace, unity, freedom, and protection.