Benin – The Nigerian Army on Thursday in Benin, engaged in the cleaning of Oba market in Benin City, Edo, as part of efforts at to commemorate the 2019 Army Day celebration.

The Brigade Commander, 4 Brigade Benin, Brig.-Gen. Greg Omoregbe, who led the exercise, said it was also part of efforts to improve civil-military relationship in the state.

Omorogbe said the exercise was also in line with the directive of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai to assure the civil society that the military was part of them.

He explained that the choice of sanitation in a market was borne out of the reality that the market place was where traders carry out daily activities, but created no time to keep them clean.

According to him, since a saying goes that “cleanliness is next to Godliness” there is the need to keep market places clean to avert epidemics and diseases occasioned by unhygienic conditions.

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The Brigade Commander also disclosed that as part of the activities for the celebration, the brigade carried out a free medical outreach on Wednesday at Oduma community in Ovia North East Local Government Area of the state.

Omoregbe said that no fewer than 200 persons benefited from the free medical services where free medicated eye glasses, mosquito nets, drugs, laboratory tests and checkups were provided for patients.

He however, said that though the grand finale of the army day celebration would be on July 5, the brigade would extend the free medical services by one week to cover other communities in Ovia North East Local Government Area.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the sanitation exercise commenced at 6am and lasted till 10am.