The house of representatives yesterday passed a resolution urging the federal government to exclude military personnel from paying fees at airports, seaports and train stations across.
This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance Mr Abdulsamad Dasuki during the plenary.
Dasuki said armed forces personnel must be exempted from paying tolls to access airports.
The lawmaker argued that the exemption would serve as an honour to the personnel for the sacrifices they make.
“Men and women of the armed forces honour our nation with the highest form of service and without reservation; keeping us safe from harm, protecting our wealth and territorial integrity, ensuring safe navigation on our territorial waters, protecting our borders including the Gulf of Guinea, Creeks, Sahara Desert and forests, and fighting armed bandits who invade our communities.
“It is important to show gratitude by honouring our brothers and sisters who are voluntarily serving under our flag, putting in their active years to keep our nation safe with some losing their lives, and some becoming disabled from the battlefield amidst other effects,” the legislator said.
The lawmaker said the action would be symbolic to encourage recruitment into the military and urged the government to be intentional in honouring uniformed men.
“Concerned that their services, though remunerated, cannot be quantified, especially when the risks to them and their dependents are considered. Therefore, we should not be hesitant to show them in our little way that we see them and we acknowledge their sacrifices,” he said.
Dasuki’s motion was specifically on airports, however, Hussein Jalo (PDP, Kaduna) moved an amendment to the motion that the privilege should be extended to seaports, railway stations and motor parks.
The amendment was adopted.
When the motion as amended was put to vote by the presiding officer, speaker of the house, Mr Abbas Tajudeen, said it was overwhelmingly supported by the lawmakers.
Consequently, he directed the relevant committees of the House to ensure compliance.
Recall that the federal executive council had last week approved the cancellation of all exemptions on airport access payments for VIPs in Nigeria due to the huge revenue losses they cause to the government.
Prior to that time, VIPs, including the president, vice president and some government officials, were exempted from paying access fees at the airports’ gates.
With Premium Times report
