Governor makinde donates N25m to Nigeria Legion, promises better welfare
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has promised better welfare for legionnaires in the state.
The governor made this promise on Monday, at the 2025 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Emblem and Appeal Fund, held at the Executive Chamber, Office of the Governor, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
Makinde also donated seven operational security vehicles to the Nigerian Legion Offices across the geopolitical zones of the State.
The governor also donated N25 million to the Appeal Fund, according to a statement on Monday, issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, and made available to newsmen in Ibadan, the state capital.
The governor said his administration would remain committed to the welfare of legionnaires and the dependants of fallen heroes in the state.
He lauded the sacrifices made by fallen heroes and members of the Nigerian Legion to the country.
Responding to the appeal by the Chairman of the Oyo State Command of the Nigerian Legion, DCG Julius Ogunkojo, Makinde promised to renovate the Legion Oyo State headquarters and extend the payment of N80,000 minimum wage to serving legionnaires, among others.
He said, “We will continue to appreciate what our fallen heroes have done for us as a country and be thankful for those of you that are still alive.
“We are here as a country because some people fought to keep this country together.
“You touched on a few things, including asking for official vehicles. We will start somewhere this year. We will look at each of our zones and provide one vehicle of your choice in each zone.
“On the minimum wage, I believe that we should, by the end of this month, 25th of January to be precise, start the implementation and I don’t expect the legions working actively with us to be left out.
“I believe we also said that for the school crime prevention, it is not just the physical bodies we are talking about. We kept pushing our team to utilise technology. I know that they have installed some CCTV cameras in some of the vulnerable schools that were identified.
“We will extend that. We are talking to Man O’ War. This is a wake-up call for us. We will activate that to see what both the legion and Man O’ War can do together to support us.”
Speaking further, the governor said, “On the renovation of the Oyo State Headquarters of Nigerian Legion, consider it done.
“I will launch this Appeal Fund with a donation of N25 million. I gave you N10 million last year and because of the inflationary trend, I am giving this amount for this year.”
Earlier in his address, Ogunkojo said that the main focus of the programme was to raise fund in order to cater for veterans who are still alive but incapacitated and living in despair as well as the children and widows of the departed heroes.
He thanked Makinde for his support and payment of monthly subvention across the 33 local government areas in the state, assuring that the Legion would continue to support the government to secure the lives and property of the citizens and residents of the state.
He appealed to members of the public to donate generously towards the launch of the emblem to assist the widows, dependants of the fallen heroes and the maimed soldiers.
