Army to Begin Payment of Benefits to Families of Fallen Heroes

By Rasheedah Makinde

The Nigerian Army has promised to start the payment of the outstanding funds to families of the fallen heroes of the Military.

The Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja stated this during the closing ceremony of the Second Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs) 2023 Convention in Ibadan.

Lieutenant Lagbaja said the payment of the outstanding eighteen point four billion Naira,(18.4 billion Naira) Group Life Assurance claims to families of late Nigerian Army personnel will commence soon as part of the Army’s efforts to ensure that both the service and dead soldiers benefit from the Command.

The COAS said President Bola Tinubu has given approval to the fund’s payment while the National Assembly has also appropriated funds for it.

”The money will soon be paid to the families of the departed personnel, who died in the line of duty,” he said.

Lieutenant Lagbaja also stated that the Nigerian Army had made several interventions for the benefit of its personnel and members of their families.

”This is in the force’s health facilities, such as the construction and renovation of hospitals in Lagos and Kaduna, as well as education facilities and construction of befitting houses, among others.

“These are other several welfare efforts, and this is because my focus is to keep the morale of our troops high as they discharge their constitutional duties,”

The COAS noted that motivating the Army’s troops would help them to be able to confront all forms of security challenges facing Nigeria as a nation.

He said the training of RSMs was one of his programmes to promote professionalism in the Nigerian Army.

The Army boss emphasized that the RSMs were major stakeholders of the Nigerian Army’s administrative and command arrangement.

He also explained further that they are the mouthpiece for younger ones on professional, personal and family welfare issues.

The Army boss, therefore, called on the officers to live up to the rank and status of their appointment by championing discipline and fair dispensation of justice across the Army.

In his address of welcome, Chief of Administration, Army, Major Jimmy Akpor, said the training became imperative to enhance the capacity of RSMs.

”This will help them to be able to discharge their role effectively as the interface between the officers and soldiers,” he said.

General Alpor assured the COAS that the training would bring about positive changes in the participants as they returned to their various formations and units.

He urged the participants to pass the knowledge gained to the younger ones as they progress in their careers, as well as the tradition, culture and ethics of the Nigerian Army.

The convention which started on Monday had as its theme “Leveraging Sound Administration for Highly Motivated Force and Operational Efficiency in the Nigerian Army”.