NO fewer than 2,500 ex-Biafran soldiers
and 64 former players of Rangers
International Football Club of Enugu have
so far received about N62.5 million upkeep
allowance from Anambra State governor,
Mr. Peter Obi.
AWKA — NO fewer than 2,500 ex-Biafran
soldiers and 64 former players of Rangers
International Football Club of Enugu have
so far received about N62.5 million upkeep
allowance from Anambra State governor,
Mr. Peter Obi.
While the ex Biafran soldiers received
N5,000 each, former Rangers players, many
of them who are down with ill health,
received amounts ranging from N200,000
to N1 million to enable them obtain
medical treatment either locally or abroad,
in addition to monthly stipends they
received from the state government.
Anambra State Commissioner for
Information, Culture and Tourism, Chief Joe
Martins Uzodike, while handing the cheques
to chairman of former Rangers players, Mr.
Luke Okpala, for onward distribution to his
colleagues on behalf of the governor, said
Obi’s gesture was to further recognize the
heroic roles played by the footballers
immediately after the Nigerian civil war.
Uzodike said: “Governor Obi has observed
that these people cannot be left to suffer
after their enormous contributions in
helping to reintegrate Igbos into Nigeria
through sports after the war.
“The ex Rangers players who receive the
monthly stipend are not limited to
Anambra or Igbos alone, but all the former
players, whether they are from the old
Bendel State, South West or the North.
“In addition, the governor has secured an
office space for the former players at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu for their
meetings and social activities.”
For the ex Biafran soldiers, the
commissioner said the N5000 was to give
them a sense of belonging as many of them
could no longer fend for themselves.
He recalled that only last month, the
governor donated about N2 million to the
inmates of Oji River Leprosy Center in
Enugu State and socialized with them
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