The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Succour

  • MTN provides succour for xenophobic attacks victims

    MTN provides succour for xenophobic attacks victims

    MTN Nigeria yesterday said it has provided financial support to the transit camps where victims of xenophobic attacks in South Africa are being resettled.

    It said the attacks were needless.

    Its Corporate Services Executive, Akinwale Goodluck, who spoke with reporters at the company’s head office, Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos, said the carrier condemned the attacks, saying they lacked justifications in the modern age.

    He said though the attacks were limited to certain parts of the country, they were nonetheless symptomatic of poverty, illiteracy, stressing that MTN was concerned not because of its business but largely because of the fatalities that had occasioned the lawlessness.

    Goodluck, who spoke against the backdrop of inciting postings on social media platform urging reprisal attacks, said there was no basis for such a call, arguing that MTN Nigeria is a Nigerian business with about 98 per cent of its workforce being Nigerians beginning from its Chief Executive Officer, Michael Ipkoki.

    According to him, only about 12 expatriate workers draw their pay cheques from MTN Nigeria while over 6,000 Nigerians are employed as permanent workers while about one million others support the value chain, eking out their living form the telco.

    Goodluck said the carrier, which supports businesses such as the financial institutions, has invested $15 billion over the past one decade to build infrastructure  and expended another N10 billion on its corporate social responsibility (CSR) through the MTN Foundation that has supported providing health services to complement government’s efforts.

    In terms of support to the economy, the telco which has over 60 million subscribers said it is the second largest tax payer to the Federal Government only next to the multinational oil companies.

  • Succour for widows

    Succour for widows

    HANNAH Ibrahim lost her husband about five years ago. A full-time housewife, Hannah’s husband’s sudden death brought her life to ground zero, with no hope of crawling out of the deep hole.

    She said: “I lost my husband five years ago. He fell sick, and despite everything we did to make him well, he died. Since then, my children and I have had to survive on the benevolence of neighbours and friends. Life has been tough. All the smiles and joy in our family disappeared with the death of my husband.”

    But the smiles and joy, which fled from Hannah’s family returned recently when she, alongside 11 other widows received empowerment items donated by a non-governmental women organisation,  Oasis Women Organisation.

    For the widows, Year 2015 indeed started on a good note. One after the other, they stepped out with bright smiles pasted on their cheeks as they received the materials, ranging from grounding machines and deep freezers to refrigerators and cash.

    The annual event, organised by Oasis Women Organisation, an organisation comprising wives of  leaders of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), is part of the efforts to put smiles back on the lips of grieving women coping with the loss of their husbands.

    According to the chairperson of the organisation, Erelu Moji Adams, wife of the National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, the materials were distributed to the widows to help them break the choke of poverty and help them in the education of their children.

    The event, which held at the popular White House Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos, also witnessed a large turnout of guests from the academia, business and entertainment circles.

    In her welcome address, Erelu Mojisola Adams urged the women to seize the opportunity of the empowerment to give their lives a new boost.

    She said the women should make effort to invest in their children, adding that the children are capable of bringing back the missing happiness into their lives if they are well-trained.

    “I beg all of you to try and make sure that you train your children. The children are able to put smiles back in your life if you give them the right education.”

    Speaking on the importance of women in the society, the guest speaker, Prof. Sophie Oluwole, said the role of women in the society cannot be quantified. She urged the women to look at themselves and identify the strong points that can be utilised.

    “A jobless woman is a useless woman,” she said, adding that women need to live responsible life that can add value to yourself and humanity.”

    Prof. Oluwole called on the women to see themselves as the salt of the world and should put in place measures that will help in the training of their children in the case of the death of the family’s breadwinner.

    “I beg you all to make sure that you get yourselves engage in one business or the other, no matter how little. Make sure that the education of your children is your priority at all times. They are your future. And whatever you invest in them today, you shall reap tomorrow.”

    Also speaking, Prof. Kolawole Raheem, urged the widows to make sure that they use the materials distributed to them wisely, saying the women should work hard to prove that the organization was not wrong in its decision to donate the materials.

    In his goodwill message, Otunba Gani Adams urged members of Oasis Women Organisation to continue in the good works they have embarked on. While promising to keep assisting the organization, he called on the well-meaning Nigerians to hands with the organization to help the poor in the society.

  • Succour for families of late neighbourhood watchers

    For the families of deceased members of the Lagos State’ community security outfit, the Neighbourhood Watchers, the labours of their lost loved ones have not been in vain.

    The Lagos State Government in recognition of the services rendered to the state by these Neighbourhood Watchers some of whom died between 2013 and last year, recently donated N250,000 each to the bereaved to cushion the effect of the loss of their bread winners.

    One of the beneficiaries, 23-year –old Saheed Kobomoje lost his father Sulaimon Kobomoje  in February last year.  Following his father’s death, Saheed has been the breadwinner of the family and together with his mother has been doing menial jobs to sustain their family. He was particularly grateful to the Lagos State Government for the assistance.

    Like the Kobomojes, other beneficiaries were full of thanks for the government for the support as they relived their ordeals since the death of their fathers to The Nation.

    While making the presentation to the families on behalf of the Lagos State Government, the Commissioner for Rural Development Hon. Cornelius Ojelabi expressed the government’s condolence and thanked the deceased for sacrificing their lives, time and family to protect their community.

    The token amount, he said was just to sustain the families and urged them to invest it wisely to yield results in no time.

    “These men have in their little ways contributed their quotas to the development of Lagos State. This reward is coming because their services were appreciated and noted by the government.

    “This is just our own token show of appreciation for the services the late watchers rendered and served diligently as neighborhood watchers. The money is meant to support the family for the service their fathers rendered to Lagos State while alive.”

    The Commissioner urged the bereaved to individually and collectively look inward to know what they can do for themselves outside government.

    A total of 20 families benefited from the gesture, they include: the lates Olufemi Ajayi; Saheed Sanusi: Adisa Bello; Adekunle Daramola; Ezekiel Akinbami; Sunday Ogunlaja; Oladimeji Olabisi.

    To the widows and children, the money will come handy in establishing and investing in a trade to sustain their families.

    There were other peculiar cases of serving watchers who were down with one form of ailment or the other. They were given N500,000 each to assist them with their treatment.

    While Mr Job Adikwu has spinal cord injury, 47 year old Owolabi Odufuwa has kidney problem.

     

  • Toyin Saraki providing succour

    Toyin Saraki providing succour

    Since she quit office as the first lady of Kwara State, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, the Founder/ President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), has been involved in one project or the other. The wife of the new strongman of Kwara politics and chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment, Senator Bukola Saraki, has since 2003 brought several initiatives and interventions to make life better for the people.

    Toyin, international campaigner for maternal, newborn and child health, rights and empowerment, reaffirmed this commitment on her recent visit to the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) in The Hague, Netherlands where she clamoured for the critical need to provide universal access to a well-educated, well-equipped and regulated midwifery workforce, especially at the grassroots level in developing countries like Nigeria.

    A qualified barrister, she had built a successful private sector career before dedicating the last 21 years to philanthropy.

  • Ex-lawmaker’s succour for the indigent

    The joy of eight indigent Law graduates knew no bound when they were presented with N350,000 each to further their studies at the Nigerian Law School. The graduates, of Kwara State origin, are beneficiaries of a scholarship scheme instituted by Senator Gbemisola Ruqqayah Saraki, a former lawmaker. SIKIRU AKINOLA reports.

    Olusola Ayeni graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Lagos State University in 2010 but he could not proceed to the Nigerian Law School for his Bar programme because his parents could not afford the fee. Five years after his mate had completed their advanced legal studies, Olusola will be going to the Law School.

    His dream to enrol for the Bar programme came to pass when he was selected as one of the beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme of Senator Gbemisola Saraki for 2014. Olusola was among eight indigent Law students given N350,000 each, last weekend, to further their studies at the Law School.

    In her letter to the beneficiaries, Senator Saraki, daughter of the late godfather of Kwara State politics, who instituted the scheme in 1995, said she was deeply touched by the plight of brilliant students whose parents could not afford to pay their fees. She said the cash would cover N295,000 tuition fee and N55,000 for their upkeep.

    The letter reads in part: “This scholarship is a reflection of my passion for education because I have a firm belief that people with education are unstoppable in their quest for success.”

    At the presentation of the cash to the beneficiaries, Senator Saraki, represented by her Special Assistant, Mrs Tawa Yusuf, described education as the greatest gift that any generation could bequeath to the younger ones, adding: “It is in recognition of this fact that I have been persistently giving out scholarships to worthy students since 1995. My passion for education can be seen through the various educational development programmes I have initiated as a private citizen.”

    Mrs Yusuf said the former lawmaker was prodded by passion to lift the poor and empower the youth through education and skill acquisition.

    Mrs Yusuf said: “Apart from the tertiary institutions’ scholarship, Senator Gbemisola Saraki has placed over 20 indigent students on scholarships at various international private secondary schools. These students are mostly orphans, a category of people that the society think will never amount to anything and neglects.

    “Her interest is predicated on the fact that we can only have a better society if we have the right people who possess the good education. she believes youths are the future of the country and the future of Kwara State. This is why she lends a helping hand to the poor.”

    A beneficiary, Abubakar Issa, who graduated from Public Law Department of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), said: “I heard about the scholarship from a friend living in Abuja.

     

  • Foundation gives succour to the poor

    Foundation gives succour to the poor

    A faith-based humanitarian organisation, Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation (ZSF) has distributed cash and items worth N1.4 million to no fewer than 20 people.

    The gestures, according to ZSF Executive Director Imam Abdullahi Shuaib was meant to tackle the educational, medical, economic empowerment and accommodation challenges of the beneficiaries who have almost lost hope due to frustration and despair.

    Speaking at the 2nd mini-Zakat Distribution Ceremony for the year 1435AH (2014), Imam Shuaib said the mini distribution is one of the strategies adopted by the foundation to touch the lives of humanity positively.

    The Executive Director said: “Having sought for the intervention of the foundation, most of the beneficiaries did not believe that their requests would be granted because majority of them have gone to other places and have been disappointed.

    “Today, I wish to bring the good news and message of hope from the foundation to the beneficiaries gathered here who will benefit from the total sum of one million three hundred and seventy thousand naira (N1, 370, 000) meant for disbursement as zakat. As you may be aware, Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation is poised to helping the rich to enrich the poor, care and touch peoples’ life and bring lots of benefits to humanity in general without discrimination on ethno-religious ground.

    “We are deeply moved by the sordid state of life some Nigerians, especially those wallowing in abject poverty, the indigent students dropping out of schools, people living in urban slums or unhygienic places thereby compromising their rights to self-dignity and respects simply because they are incapacitated financially. It is against this deplorable situation that ZSF is motivated to intervene by providing succour to those suffering from socio-economic deprivations.

    “We are paled and saddened each time the poor and less-privileged cry out their hearts when they are unable to meet their basic needs due to financial constraints.”

    The foundation, he said, has become a beacon of hope and the voice for the voiceless.

    Imam Shuaib stated: “We are pleased to inform you that six (6) persons among the beneficiaries will be empowered economically to commence food vending/food stuff business; two (2) will be sponsored for medical surgery; namely, replant of femur and correction of chronic cough/nasal; three (3) people will be provided decent accommodation while an octogenarian woman will benefit from the welfare/feeding facility of the Foundation.

    “At Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation, we are motivated by our faith and the concern for humanity and the well-being of Nigerians believing that ‘whoever alleviates (a suffering) from one, Allah will alleviate his lot in this world and the next…’”

    He appealed to Nigerians to join hands with the foundation to touch the lives of the poor and needy positively with zakat fund and also help the less-privileged to be self-reliant and attain economic freedom.

    The beneficiaries were full of appreciation to the foundation, prayed Allah to continue to uplifts it and bless those who paid Zakat to the foundation.

  • Succour for Danfodiyo varsity’s students

    Succour for Danfodiyo varsity’s students

    The accommodation challenge facing students of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) could be a forgotten issue when the institution re-opens next month. Reason: the management is putting finishing touches on the hostels donated by Kano and Zamfara states. HALIMAH AKANBI (300-Level Law), IBRAHIM JATTO (Zoology) and ISMAT ANIFOWOSE (300-Level Economics) report.

    Good accommodation is the biggest challenge facing students of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), as the new session is about to start. This is because of the limited bed space in the hostels, which make it difficult for an appreciable population of the students to stay on campus.

    Most students live off-campus, where they are charged exorbitant rents. This makes the struggle for accommodation in school Halls of Residence a tug of war. Some, who cannot secure bed space, resort to squatting with friends. This has been the plight of students over the years.

    Last June, the struggle for accommodation almost led to a stampede, prompting the management to cancel the exercise. An online portal was later launched to make the exercise orderly.

    The increased population of students exerted pressure on the school hostels, which led to the deterioration of facilities. The management responded and embarked on renovation of the hostels and the construction of new ones. The school has completed two hostel blocks for male and female.

    With the effort by the management, the accommodation challenge could be a forgotten issue when students return next month. The campus is wearing a new look with the renovation.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the management extended the resumption date by two weeks to allow the completion of renovation of the school buildings. Students will return  on November 17.

    Some of them, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, shared their enthusiasm about the development. Maryam Abdulrasheed, a 300-Level Biology student, hailed the management for the “good move”, saying it was a right step to solving the accommodation challenge. “Students would be happy if the new hostels are completed before resumption. This will reduce the struggle for bed space and boost academic performance. There is the need for the management to ensure the students maintained an healthy environment because most of the ailments come from dirty environment,” she said.

    The new hostels will reduce congestion, Abdullahi Suleiman, a 300-Level Economics student, said. The number of squatters will also reduce, he added. “This will promote hygiene in the hostels and, naturally, sickness will be reduced. A room meant for eight would not be given to 20 students,” he said.

    To Olawale Busari, a 200-Level Agricultural Science student, only a few would benefit from the new hostels. He said only freshers and graduating students would be favoured in the bed space allocation. “It is true that new hostels will reduce stress, but I have the belief that it would favour a fraction of students living off-campus. The chance of getting bed space for returning students is slim, since the management always considers 100-Level and 400-Level students before others,” he said.

    Abdulgafar Saka, a 300-Level Economics student, praised the management’s efforts in repairing facilities in the hostels. He said: “This seems to be the first time renovation is being done on school halls. There were many cracks on some of the buildings. Some had their ceilings and roofs shattered. With the renovation, I am happy we will sleep well because there will be comfort.”

    Mohammed Kudu Adama, 300-Level Physics Education, said: “This is a welcome development and the management deserves to be praised for this. Construction of more hostels will reduce the accommodation problem to the barest minimum.”

    The Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr. Adamu Aliero, said: “The renovation will be completed before the resumption date. The new hostels donated by the Kano and Zamfara state governments will be ready before students return.”

    Asked if there would be increment in the accommodation fees, he Aliero said: “Definitely, fees will increase, because the school wants to provide a very conducive atmosphere for learning, with the renovation and provision of new facilities. We hope to conquer the problem of accommodation being faced by our students.”

    The Deputy Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr Aliyu Gobir, who is also the chairman of Bed space Allocation Committee, said the Zamfara Male Hostel may not be ready for allocation when the school resumes because it is yet to be handed over to the management by the donor.

    He said: “The Kano Hostel has been handed over to the school and we are carrying out electrification and water projects in the hostel. The hostel will comfortably accommodate 312 students. There is also provision for a common room, matron’s office, Students’ Union officials’ room and hall governor’s room.”

    He said the Students’ Affairs Division would hold election for hall governors and room leaders to maintain the hostel and create a channel for students to channel their complaints.

  • Foundation gives succour to the sick

    Foundation gives succour to the sick

    Irked by the inability of 17 indigent patients who received medical treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FETHA), Ebonyi State, the Divine Care Global Community Initiative (DCGCI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has paid their hospital bills of over N483, 000.

    The patients, who had stayed in the hospitals for between two and six months after their cure and subsequent discharge due to lack of money to offset their medical bills, resigned to fate before the NGO came to their aid and brought succour to them.

    Many of the patients who came from various parts of the state as well as Cross River State were in the plastic surgery and orthopedic wards of the hospital.

    They were treated of various ailments and were given between N30, 000 and N100,000 bills. But due to lack of money, they were hanging around the hospital waiting for money to clear their bills before they could go home.

    The NGO, through the management of FETHA, cleared their hospital bills totaling over N.960 million as the hospital gave them 50 per cent rebate. The gesture enabled the NGO to go home.

    While handing over the cheque of over N483, 000 to the Chief Medical Director of FETHA Dr. Paul Ezeonu, the National Coordinator of the NGO, Deacon Dandi Odii praised the hospital management for slashing the hospital bills by 50 per cent.

    He said the programme started nine years ago when he went to pray for the sick at the hospital. Then he realised that some of the patients were discharged from the hospital but could not afford to pay for their hospital bills. Their situation touched him and he began to think of how to get them out of the hospital. That, he said, brought the idea of the NGO.

    Odii said he decided to do charity work to serve humanity through the NGO.

    “With the support of friends as well as the foundation’s major financer, Mr. Ken Ojiri of Ken Ojiri Foundation, the programme had been sustained since last year,” he said.

    The Coordinator also revealed that 25 indigent patients were discharged through the NGO last year, adding that they were released in Federal Teaching Hospitals Abakaliki and Federal Medical Centre Owerri. One of the patients was delivered of a triplet.

    The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Sunday Nwangele praised the vision and humanitarian service rendered to the indigent patients by the NGO, even as he urged other individuals and organisations to emulate the gesture.

    Represented by the Director of Public Health, Dr. Chris Archi, Dr Nwangele said it was good to give than to receive, adding that God loves a cheerful giver.

    He stressed that the NGO, over the years, has been giving succour to poor patients, praying God to reward their services.

    He said: “Charity work is not only for the politicians but for everybody in the society. This is because the measure you give is the measure you will be given or receive. The best thing we can do for ourselves is to help others while we are alive because we don’t know who will enjoy our wealth after death.”

    While receiving the cheque for the payment of the hospital bills for the indigent patients, Dr. Ezeonu praised the NGO for its gesture, saying that it had set a pace for others to follow.

    “I hope other NGOs and politicians would emulate the gesture by setting up centres which could give succour to the poor in the society and which would be named after them. This is the only way they can give back to the society what they received or benefited from it. I know the plight of some patients in the hospital. Some of them can not pay their bills no matter how  little due to poverty,” he said.

    Ezeonu further urged Christian associations to emulate what the NGO did by paying off bills of poor people in the hospitals. He noted that when he saw the need to help the poor in the hospital, he slashes their bills by 50 per cent.

    The patients expressed their gratitude to the NGO for paying their hospitals bills. They prayed God to grant those behind the NGO their heart desires.

    Seventy-year-old woman, Mrs. Grace Aloh from Ohaozara Local Government Area who had been in the hospital for three months after her discharge, described the intervention of the NGO as a saving grace because no help was coming from anywhere. She was full of joy and happiness, even as she sang praises to God in appreciation of what God has done for her through the NGO.

    Another patient, a10-year-old Joel Nwuzor from Izzi Local Government Area was abandoned in the hospital by his parents for six months.

    According to the management of the hospital, the boy was brought to the hospital by his mother who later abandoned him for about six months.

    Others such as Josephine Odey, Theresa Ogar and Philomena Njap all from Cross River State thanked the NGO for coming to their rescue.

    They came to the hospital because of one aliment or the other but being treated, there was no money to settle their bills. They, therefore, remained in the hospital for between two and five months before the intervention of the NGO.

    Also Moses Ude from Izzi Local Government Area was billed N38, 000, Monday Nweke from Ikwo was billed N70, 000, Uchechukwu Ofoke from Izzi was billed N45, 000, Steven Ogodo from Ikwo was billed N91, 000, Bernard Nworie was billed N99, 000 and John Unoke was billed N41, 000. Their medical bills were paid by the NGO.

    They prayed God to guide and protect the members of the NGO and as well reward them

  • Succour for police officers’ widows in Anambra

    Succour for police officers’ widows in Anambra

    There was enough relief materials meant for their well-being. Naturally, the mood of the recipients should be aglow. However, the environment was quiet as a grave yard.

    Instead of being happy for the gesture they were to receive, the wives of the police men, who died in active service in Awka, Anambra State were weeping profusely.

    The event was the show of goodwill to the widows of the police men who lost their lives while serving their fatherland by the wife of Anambra State Police Commissioner, Mrs. Asabe Gwary.

    Mrs. Gwary, who could not also control her emotions, said “only God knows why anything happens.”

    Some of the widows came with their children, while some of them who lost their husbands recently, wore all white to the event.

    The event took place at the Awka Area Command premises where items like wrappers, bags of beans, bags of rice and cartons of tomatoes, among others were distributed to them.

    Most of them who could not cry, especially those their husbands died long ago, wore long faces and intermittently, put up smiles on their faces.

    The gesture by Mrs. Gwary was done under the auspices of Police Officer’s Wives Association (POWA) in the state.

    Few of the beneficiaries who spoke with The Nation expressed happiness that such a thing was happening to them after a long wait.

    One of them who spoke to The Nation but did not want her name in print said, such items had been coming to them but those at the helm had been keeping them for their households until Mrs. Gwary came.

    But, for Mrs. Joy Alloysius, who lost the husband about five years ago, commended the wife of the police commissioner for remembering the widows of the police men.

    She said that it was the first time there were being recommended by the association and commended Mrs. Gwary for being what she called a through mother.

    Also, Mrs. Jane Ogbonna, said “this our mummy’s gesture has shown us that individuals are different in this world, we have children and since our husbands died, we have been living from hand to mouth.”

    “I was surprised when I was told that our CP’s wife wanted to see us, initially, I thought whether I have offended anybody to deserve any form of punishment until I summoned courage to come.”

    “This is too much and I have no mouth to thank the wife of our commissioner, all I have to tell her is that she will never encounter any form of problem.”

    “For her to still remember that there are some people like us who are suffering some where, means that human milk flows in her veins and she will not leave to regret her action,“ she said.

    Speaking with The Nation, “Mrs. Asabe Gwary, who was accompanied on the journey by the wife of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, in charge of operations, Mrs. Nkiraharami Yakadi, said the action has not concluded.

    According to her, “they should see their plight as not the worst, God giveth and God taketh, as far as we are in this command, they will never lack.”

    She said the fact that they lost their husbands while serving the country was not the end of their lives and that of their children.

    “Some of them have their young families to take care of, while some had lost their husbands long ago, but as far as God continues to give us life, they will not have much to regret.”

    “Yes, it is sad to lose one’s loved one, but only God knows why such things happened when they did, but my assurance to the widows is that God will not forsake them,” she said.

    Furthermore, Mrs. Gwary said it was done to tell the widows that all hopes were not lost despite the fact that their husbands were no longer alive.

    The Nation gathered that some of the widows lost their husbands either in the hands of kidnappers, armed robbers or hired assassins in the state in their cause of crime fighting.

  • Succour for the needy in Imo

    Succour for the needy in Imo

    Reprieve came the way of indigent widows of police officers who lost their lives in active service and other less-privileged people in Imo State when the Police Officers’ Wives Association (POWA), gave out items worth millions of naira to them.

    The gifts were household items like electricity generating sets, clothes and other materials, a gesture which aimed at improving the well-being of the widows.

    The widows, 14 of them, received one generator and bundles of wrapper each.

    Speaking at the event which held at the Police Officers’ Mess,  the Chairperson of the Imo State chapter of POWA, Hajia Idiat Ali, who was represented by Dr. Fatima Kura, said POWA is committed to improving the welfare of indigent women and other vulnerable people in the society through its various welfare strategies and packages.

    She said: “But for paucity of fund, POWA has the passion to touch more lives through its empowerment programme.”

    According to her, the beneficiaries were randomly selected from all the zones across the state with emphasis on the families of dead police officers.

    Responding, the Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, represented by Rotimi  Adelesi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), commended the association for remembering the indigent widows and other vulnerable members of the society.

    He said such gesture will go a long way in reducing their suffering and give them a sense of belonging.

    Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Bridget Mgbemena, expressed their gratitude to the association for alleviating the plight of the widows and other indigent people, adding that the singular act of care has consoled them that they were still part of the police family.

    She said: “Since I lost my husband five years ago, I felt I have been forgotten but today, I feel once more like the wife of a police officer. The gesture will certainly go a long way in keeping us together as one happy family.”

    She, however, appealed to the Federal Government and the Police Service Commission to assist POWA in its responsibility of caring for the less-privileged people, adding that if properly funded, the association, which she said she was proud to belong, will adequately address the challenges of poverty and illiteracy confronting the people, especially within the Nigeria Police Force.

    Another beneficiary, Mrs. Vero Okorie, who broke down in tears as she recounted how her husband was shot down by armed robbers two years ago, thanked POWA for the intervention, stating that she is convinced that her husband’s death was not in vain.

    “I am glad to know that we are still remembered two years after my husband was killed. I thank the leadership of POWA for what they have done. It is not all about the items but the care they have shown us. We are all grateful.”

    The beneficiaries were Mrs. Ngozi  Omenazu, Deborah Emmanuel, Comfort Ojobe, Uzoma Bridget, Mary Otu, Ngozi Malaky, Eze Blessing, La Kemi and Ngozi Onurah.

    Others were Mgbemena Bridget, Blessing Augustine, Vero Okorie and Ngozi Ejimofor.