News
Armed Forces Remembrance : Sanwo-Olu To Empower Widows Of Slain Heroes
As the nation remembers her fallen heroes today, Lagos State governor Sanwo-Olu has disclosed that his administration would be catering for the spouses of fallen soldiers through empowerment scheme of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Sanwo-Olu spoke on Wednesday after he laid the wreath in commemoration of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day held at Remembrance Arcade at Tafawa Balewa Square.
The event is held yearly to honour soldiers and officers who died in the course of carrying out their constitutional duty.
The Governor said the citizenry had a responsibility to keep Nigeria on the path of sustainable prosperity and unity, saying such remained the best way to honour the patriotism and bravery of men of the Nigerian armed forces who died in the course of protecting the country.
The Governor observed that labour of the fallen heroes would not be in vain if citizens remained resolute in defending the unity of Nigeria.
He said: “Today’s event is very significant, because it is being held in honour of those who laid down their lives to defend our country and keep it united. We will continue to celebrate their bravery and appreciate them for their efforts. As a nation, we must continue to ensure that all their efforts did not go unnoticed.
“The event is also an evidence for brave men and women that are currently serving in the armed forces, that government will certainly not forget their service to our fatherland. Therefore, to ensure that our fallen soldiers did not labour in vain, we must make sacrifice for peace and unity of this country.”
Sanwo-Olu reiterated the State’s commitment to working with security agencies to strengthen professionalism in the discharge of their constitutional duties. Lagos, the Governor pledged, will remain friendly and maintain non-discriminatory approach towards members of armed forces seconded to the State for duties.
He said the State Government had also been supportive of retired military personnel and spouses of fallen soldiers.
The Governor said no fewer than 2,000 members of Nigerian Legion, who are mainly ex-servicemen, had been engaged by Lagos Government to support security operations across the State. This, he said, underscored the Government’s readiness to continue to improve welfare of ex-service personnel and honour their bravery.
He said: “We do not want the wives of our fallen heroes to live in abject. Lagos Government will be supporting them through our empowerment programme being run by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation that deliberately caters for widows.
“We will correct their narratives and I can assure you that widows of our fallen heroes will be targeted in our empowerment scheme. We also can have a special social programme which will target them. We will extract information and reach out to them.
“We will make sure that in our next programme, we deliberately look for all of the widows of our fallen heroes and give them empowerment. It is for the Government to be able to give them empowerment, so that they can continue to fend for their families and themselves.”
The event was graced by commanders of all security formations in the State, and top functionaries of the Lagos State Government, including the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji, Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola and members of the Governor’s cabinet.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Board of Trustees, BoT, is currently holding an emergency meeting.
The meeting was called to find lasting solutions to the current leadership crisis bedeviling the party.
Those who have arrived include the BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara; Secretary of the BoT, Senator Ahmed Makarfi; and former Governors Achike Udenwa, Sam Egwu, Babangida Aliyu, Senator Ben Obi, and Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola, among others.
The meeting is holding amid the crisis surrounding the struggle for who occupies the position of the PDP National Secretary.
Last week, at the PDP national secretariat, a fight broke out between Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye during its BoT meeting.
The crisis between the duo started when Anyanwu left to contest for Imo State governorship election and Ude-Okoye was was selected by the Southeast arm of the party to replace him.
This led to a lawsuit, after which the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu declared Ude-Okoye as the substantive National Secretary.
But Anyanwu said Ude-Okoye has no authority to assume the position, despite the ruling.
Anyanwu cited his appeal of the ruling at the Supreme Court as grounds for maintaining the status quo
The Nigerian Senate has approved the termination of three Resident Electoral Commissioners who have been suspended since 2023 for flouting the provisions of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Act
The approval followed the request from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging the Senate to terminate the appointments of the embattled State Resident Electoral Commissioner for Adamawa, Sokoto and Abia.
Sponsor of the motion and Leader of the Senate, Michael Bamidele Opeyemi sought the invocation of Section 157 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, saying that the law empowers the Chamber to approve the request.
Those whose appointments will be terminated include, Dr Nura Ali, Sokoto State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barr. Hudu Yunusa Ari, Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner and Professor Ikemefuna Chijioke Uzochukwu, Abia State Resident Electoral Commissioner respectively.
He said, “Aware that the aforementioned Resident Commissioners were earlier suspended in 2023, bordering on allegations of infractions of the Electoral Act; compromise of elections and abandonment of duty without cogent reasons.”
A copy of the motion sighted by Newsmen on Wednesday revealed that the Office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, and the Department of State Services, DSS, indicted Dr. Nura Ali in their reports, having confessed to corruption, incompetence and receiving bribe to the tune of $150,000 from politicians.
According, the plenary which was presided by the Senate President, Godswill Obot Akpabio activated the relevant provisions of the Constitution and approve the termination of appointment of the affected Commissioners.
President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Wednesday for a private visit to Paris, France, before proceeding to Addis Ababa for the 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU Heads of State.
“The president will arrive in Addis Ababa early next week for the AU summit,” Mr Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman, said in a statement.
The AU Summit is scheduled to hold from Feb. 12th to 16th.
“In Addis Ababa, President Tinubu will join African leaders at the 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU Heads of State, scheduled for Feb. 12th to 16th.
Hea said while in France, President Tinubu would meet with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron.
BREAKING: PDP BoT holds emergency meeting amid Anyanwu, Ude-Okoye crisis
BREAKING: Senate approves termination of appointment of 3 Resident Electoral Commissioners
Tinubu Departs for France Ahead of AU Summit
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