» Retired Airforce Officer Gets N8M Motorized Wheelchair 11 Years After Accident

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has fulfilled a promise made in 2014 for the provision of a wheelchair to retired Flight Lieutenant Dauda Philip. The specialised wheelchair, which was bought at a cost of 16,577.10 Pounds Sterling (almost N8 million), was formally handed over to the retired officer, yesterday, 13 March 2019.

The retired officer was involved in a road traffic accident on 13 September 2008, in which he sustained a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed. Despite being treated within the country and evacuated for advanced care in Egypt and India by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), he eventually lost total use of his upper and lower limbs.

He was subsequently retired from the NAF on 4 December 2014 with a recommendation that a motorized wheelchair should be provided to aid his movement in retirement.

However, this was not done, which prompted the retired officer to appeal to the present CAS for the provision of a wheelchair. The CAS, who was hitherto unaware of his predicament, swiftly approved the recommendation and the specialised wheelchair was ordered.