The Acting National Chairman of the Nigerian Legion , Major VO Abiola (rtd) has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to redeem N500m pledge made to the Legion at earliest possible time to enable it survive .
He made the appeal and profusely thanked “President Tinubu for the unprecedented amount never before received or pledged by any government or President in our history “
“We are indeed grateful for this gesture of support and solidarity and pray that this pledge is redeemed at earliest possible time,”
The Acting National Chairman Nigerian Legion stated this during the Nigerian Legion National Council meeting in Abuja on Thursday. He said the management of the legion is assiduously working through the relevant federal government agencies to ensure this and other pledges are redeemed.
He said efforts are on to diversify and enhanced Nigerian Legion income base as it had signed several Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with reputable firms to source funds for veterans welfare programmes that would ameliorate sufferings of veterans .
According to him, earning opportunities would be created to close ” expectation gap between the pensions of veterans and the purchasing power parity of their incomes.”
While advocating for realistic and sustainable pension reform, the Acting National Chairman seeks for support of all for crucial initiatives aimed at addressing the financial realities faced by veterans some of whom are incapacitated.
Thursday Nigerian Legion National Council meeting is expected to elect a substantive National Chairman to fill the vacancy created by the appointment of former National Chairman Major General AM Jibril (Rtd) as the Secretary of the Civil Defence,Correctional ,Fire and Immigration Services Board(CDCFIB).
Abiola paid glorying tributes to Jibril the former National Chairman for his services rendered, including the FG N500m pledge, strong advocacy for inclusion of the Nigerian Legion in the National budget.strenghten relations between the Legion and the Armed Forces, and his push for innovative initiatives reforms of Corps of Commissionaires who are likely to play the role of vigilantes.
