By Olayemi Esan, Abuja
The Pakistan Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (PCJCSC), General Nadeem Raza, and his wife Mrs Syeda Bushra Raza was at Defence Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday to seek ways on how to further deepen the scope of the defence cooperation between the Pakistan Armed Forces and its Nigerian counterpart.
During their visit, Mrs Syeda Bushra Raza visited the DEPOWA Secretariat, Abuja, praised the Association for establishing a skills acquisition and vocational training centre where youths and women, including widows and orphans of fallen military heroes, are empowered to become self-reliant and economically independent.
Deputy Director Defence Information, Air Commodore Wap Maigida in a statement on Thursday stated that Mrs Raza who accompanied her husband, Gen Nadeem Raza to Nigeria on an official engagement, revealed that she was ready to cooperate with DEPOWA in other areas such as human capacity development.
She also commended the social intervention and humanitarian programmes of the Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association (DEPOWA), targeted at less privileged and vulnerable persons in the barracks and larger society.
She thanked the current leadership of DEPOWA for the hospitality and warm reception accorded her and her husband since their arrival while promising to reciprocate the gesture whenever the DEPOWA President and her team intend to visit Pakistan.
The DEPOWA President, Barr (Mrs), Vickie Irabor stated that DEPOWA will welcome all areas of collaboration towards enhancing its core mandate of serving humanity. According to her, the visit would promote stronger ties between Nigeria and Pakistan Armed Forces, particularly in the security and defence sector.
She maintained that since its inception, DEPOWA has continued to foster bonds of friendship among its members to enable them to play their roles as women in national development.
The DEPOWA President enumerated other mandates of the Association to include the establishment of DEPOWA network of schools, supporting families of serving military personnel and fallen heroes, extending goodwill to vulnerable and marginalized persons in conflict zones.
Mrs Irabor equally disclosed that DEPOWA is working towards the establishment of a novel Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), rehabilitation centre. This she said, is to support the Armed Forces of Nigeria reintegration of officers and men after their tour of duties from their theatre of operations.
