The Federal Government has approved the sum of N134,749,953,243.69 for security debarment allowance for military veterans, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru said Friday.

He said the approval demonstrated the government’s commitment to veterans’ welfare.

The minister added that a phased implementation of the Security Debarment Allowance for the hitherto excluded veterans commenced in January 2023.

Badaru stated this at the ministerial briefing on the 2024 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration.

He said, “To demonstrate our commitment to veterans’ welfare, the FG has approved the sum of N134,749,953,243.69 for security debarment allowance.

“By this, all veterans who retired/discharged honourably from the services of the Armed Forces of Nigeria will reap this benefit.

“Our service personnel and veterans deserve the best, and the best they will get.”

He pledged to train and equip the Nigerian Armed Forces personnel with combat capabilities and modern wares to reduce casualties during operations.

The minister said, “The successes recorded by our Armed Forces have only served as encouragement to persevere until victory is finally assured and all our displaced citizens return home.

“We, therefore, look forward to adopting a proactive approach to combating our security challenges by harnessing our intelligence resources and having strong partnerships with our West African neighbours.

“The Federal Government will also continue to equip the Armed Forces with combat capabilities, training and equipment to reduce to the barest minimum, causalities due to operations. We are indeed hopeful that the pledge and focus of Mr. President to bring an end to all security challenges quickly will be realized,” he said.

He said the country has been battling serious internal security challenges for over a decade which have stretched the resources of the nation and the Armed Forces.

“The Armed Forces of Nigeria has risen to these challenges not counting the costs in terms of ultimate sacrifice being paid by our troops. For this reason, I can say the situation is gradually improving considering where we were before now,” he added. (The PUNCH)

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