Widows of Nigerian soldiers who lost their lives while fighting Boko Haram terrorists have called on wives of service chiefs to impress on their husbands and the government to intervene and ensure prompt payment of salaries and allowances of their deceased husbands.

The widows made the appeal during a counselling and condolence visit by wives of service chiefs under the umbrella of Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA) in Maiduguri at the weekend.

While appreciating the visit, the widows lamented that some of their children have not been going to school since the introduction of Bank Verification Number (BVN) by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which prevented most of them from accessing the bank accounts of their husbands.

They further urged the government to create skills acquisition training for them and provide jobs for those that have educational qualifications like secondary and tertiary school certificates.

Responding on behalf of the wives of service chiefs, the President of DEPOWA, Mrs. Omobolanle Olanisakin, sympathised with the women and condoled them over the loss of their husbands who died in active service.

While praying for the souls of the departed soldiers, Mrs. Olanisakin assured the widows that all their complaints would be channelled to the appropriate quarters for possible and immediate solutions.

She said: “We cannot fold our arms to allow such a situation to continue to happen to you. We are all mothers and women and we know very well what is means a woman to be left with children without husband and care or support. We are with you and we will continue to be with you.

“Already we brought here with us some relief materials for you and more will be provided for you. We have also started training some widows at our DEPOWA Skills Acquisition Scheme Centre Abuja and you will be included in the training program in order to make you self-reliant and have something doing to sustain yourselves and the children. You are not alone and you will not be alone.”

The wife of Chief of Army Staff, Hajiya Ummu Kaltum Buratai, described their visit as an indication of their love and care for the widows and assured them that DEPOWA would continue to visit and interact with them towards improving their wellbeing.

Members of the delegation included the wife of the Chief of Air Staff, Hajiya Hafsat Sadiq Abubakar, wife of the Chief of Naval Staff, Mrs. Theresa Ebas, and wife of Inspector General of Police, Mrs. Agarase Arase.

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