Vice President Kashim Shettima has mourned the Nigerian Air Force personnel who lost their lives in Monday’s aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ondo State, describing their deaths as a painful national loss.
Shettima said the supreme sacrifice made by the personnel in the service of the nation would never be forgotten.
The Vice President, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, assured the bereaved families that the Federal Government’s responsibility to them would not end with words of condolence.
He said the nation owed an enduring debt of gratitude to the fallen personnel who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty.
Shettima also reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of three days of national mourning and directive that national flags be flown at half-mast in honour of the deceased.
He acknowledged the President’s directive for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash, saying the nation would await answers while mourning with the affected families.
The Vice President extended his solidarity to the officers, airmen and airwomen of the Nigerian Air Force, noting that the tragedy had taken members of a professional family bound together by duty and sacrifice.
He prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased and for comfort and strength for their families, colleagues and loved ones.
