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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