The Nation Newspaper

Tag: POWA

  • POWA to build hospital for members

    POWA to build hospital for members

    The Police Officers Wives Association (POWA), yesterday said it plans to establish a hospital that would take care of its member in the country in Akwanga, Nasarawa state.

    President of POWA and wife of the Inspector General of Police, Mrs. Asmau Idris said this in Abuja during the 2016 annual general meeting (AGM) of the association.

    She said the hospital, when established, would help reduce mother and child mortality rates among POWA members.

    She also said there was need to improve healthcare as it is currently been rendered in all police health care centres across the country.

    Mrs. Idris said: “It is one of our objectives to do humanitarian activities for our members and the society in general. The hospital we are proposing is one of our pet projects during my tenure.

    “I know we still have good Nigerians who are willing to reach out to the less privileged ones in the society. I know friends of the Nigerian Police and the police itself will help us carryout this project.”

    She also said POWA would come up with programmes that would assist and impact on the lives of its members who are widows.

    “Some of these widows are wives of our fallen heroes and they are still in our hearts. The association has a record on most of them (widows). We are going to look at the list batch by batch and reach out to them.

    “Most of these widows are our fallen heroes in Gwoza, Maiduguri, and some in Nasarawa state. We are trying to gather their names so that we can reach out to the families and help them in their needs,” she said.

    He added that the POWA would launch a new environmental and hygiene programme in barracks across the country.

    The environmental campaign programme, she said, would be flagged off next month in Abuja.

  • Abia POWA remembers officers’ widows

    Abia POWA remembers officers’ widows

    It was a day of shedding tears of joy as the Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) of the Abia State command for the first time in the history of the association remembered the wives of the fallen police men who died in active service.

    It was the day 64 wives of police officers of the Abia State command who died in active service were empowered by POWA at the Police Officers mess, Umuahia, where several items were given to the women to help them be self-sustaining.

    The empowerment items, which included sewing machines, grinding machines, hair dressing equipments and cash were presented to them by the POWA chairperson in the state, Hajia, Khadija Ibrahim Adamu.

    Speaking at the event, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Adamu, said the gesture was the command’s way of assisting the widows and advised them to make good use of the empowerment items.

    Adamu said the empowerment was a legacy of police to empower POWA and help them uplift the standard of living of their colleagues who lost their husbands in the line of duty so that they would not be begging for help all through their lives.

    He said that this is the first time the empowerment programme is happening in the command, stressing that many of the widows have suffered since the death of their bread winners while serving their father land.

    One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Evelyn Onyike Aja, who was giving a sewing machine, said her husband died in 2012, in active duty. She explained that since her husband’s death taking care of the three children has not been easy for her.

    She said that her the husband died in FMC Umuahia, after he was rushed there from his duty post and since then the husband’s family abandoned her and the children, stressing that it was a great relief to her that the sewing machine was given to her as it will help her to start life anew.

    Mrs. Aja said, she was already sewing before her husband died but did not have her own sewing machine, but with the machine that has been given to me today, I am going to start sewing again with ease.”

    She said that her husband was preparing to buy a sewing machine for her when he died. “Since his death life has been very difficult for us the members of his immediate family, so you can imagine what this sewing machine means to me and my children.”

    Mrs Aja said, “I learnt how to sew before my husband died. He was about to buy machine for me before she died. The sewing machine will help me to earn income and take care of the three children my husband left for me.

    His family abandoned us, so this will help me to take care of the children he left behind, I am grateful to the CP and POWA leadership for including me in the programme our children are in primary school aged between seven to four years, since his death we have been surviving through the help of God.”

  • POWA donates shops to widows

    POWA donates shops to widows

    The Chairperson of Police Officers Wives Association (POWA), River State Command, Mrs. Chinyere Ogunsakin, has donated 36 shops to widows of policemen who died in active service.

    Mrs Ogunsakin, who inspected markets belonging to POWA after the election of new executives, said the essence of POWA is to give succour to members and to encourage the less privileged.

    Mrs. Ogunsakin, during a visit to the POWA Market at Mini Okoro, said the association is committed to give assistance to widows who are into petty trading, adding that the amount charged widows for spaces in the market should be moderate.

    She said the idea to allocate shops to widows is in consonance with her husband’s policy.

    The POWA chairperson said the new executives would collate list of genuine beneficiaries.

    Mrs ogunsakin, who encouraged the women to keep the barracks clean, said: “The market is for you not the executives.”

    She stated that during the 50th anniversary of POWA, she would encourage schools and children to participate in various talent shows which would prepare them for a better future.

    She also urged the POWA Secretariat to ensure they keep their records up to date to guide against corruption as the Commissioner of Police, Tunde Ogunsakin would not accept any excuse from anybody found wanting.

    The POWA election was attended by over 150 members . The affairs of POWA are to be directed by the new executives, which has Ngozi Anaogu as Secretary.

  • PHOTO: POWA condoles Yuguda over loss of sister

    PHOTO: POWA condoles Yuguda over loss of sister

  • Fire guts POWA market

    No fewer than 48 shops were razed by inferno on Sunday night at the Police Officers Wives Association market in Ikeja.

    Although the fire, which reportedly started around 9:30pm, affected 86 shops in the market, the remaining 38 were saved from complete ruin.

    However, no life was lost in the disaster, allegedly caused by a power generating set, which was kept close to a cooking area.

    Confirming the incident, the Director, Lagos Fire Service, Rasaq Fadipe, said it was a serious fire.

    Fadipe said the call came in at about 9:21pm on Sunday, adding “two water trucks of 10, 000 litres each were deployed to combat the fire.

    “48 shops were razed by the fire while 38 shops were only mildly affected by the inferno and several goods which I cannot say the worth were burnt because this is a general market and they sell different goods,” he said.

    Fadipe condemned the reaction of the residents, saying “they halted their activities and caused delay for the firefighters.”

    He said: “When we arrived at the scene, we discovered that the residents were trying to fight the fire with water from the drainage channel. And we had to beg them before they could leave the scene for us to tackle the fire.

    “Alausa and Ikeja fire trucks responded promptly to save the day,” he said.