… Offers N180m, 27,000 bags, cartons of food for 9,000 fighters
… Rolls out support for widows of CJTF
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum has approved government scholarship for children of Civilian JTF, hunters and vigilantes killed at battle fronts while fighting boko haram in the last seven years.
Zulum also flagged off a welfare package of N50,000 each for their widows.
The Governor announced all the interventions on Wednesday in Maiduguri, while addressing a gathering of about 9,000 volunteers who have been fighting insurgency alongside the Nigerian army troops.
Addressing the crowd the Governor said “These volunteers fought and died with no death benefits, no pension, and no gratuities. As we should expect, orphaned children and widows left behind by these fallen Civilian JTF and hunters have been struggling whether to feed, to access medical services, or to access basic and secondary education.”
“As Governor of Borno State, I assure you, that insha’Allah, all of those who died in the Civilian JTF, groups of hunters and vigilantes did not die in vain. Bi’iznillah they have all died for the causes of saving humanity and we pray that Allah grants them His eternal mercy and admit them into aljanna firdaus.”
READ ALSO : Zulum Approves Recruitment Of 594 Doctors, Nurses, Others For Borno Hospitals
“It is my honour to hereby announce that Borno State Government will award education scholarship to the most vulnerable orphans of Civilian JTF who have been killed at battle fronts.”
“This scholarship will be awarded in phases, starting with the youngest and most vulnerable families of the earliest fallen volunteers, down to the most recently killed.
“The parents of these children died fighting for all of us, the people of Borno State, the very least we can do is work towards the future of their children.”
READ ALSO: Gov. Zulum Distributes N65m,Food To Widows,Vulnerables
” I will, insha Allah, constitute a multi-stakeholder committee which shall thoroughly evaluate vulnerabilities, come up with a list of children to benefit in the first phase, recommend schools, and develop a feasible and sustainable structure of the scholarship. The committee will be tasked with securing admissions, uniforms, fees and monitoring the academic progress of the children.” he explained .
At the end of the meeting the Governor also announced the release and distribution of N180m and 27,000 bags and cartons of food variety to all the 9,000 volunteers present.
He said “each of the 9,000 volunteers present at this meeting would receive 20,000 naira cash, a 50-kg bag of rice, a carton of spaghetti and a gallon of cooking oil, all of which were outside your regular monthly allowances.”