Abuja – Wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, has praised the Nigerian armed forces for preserving the unity of the country in spite of the daunting challenges.
Mrs Osinbajo gave the commendation at the foundation laying ceremony of a block of classrooms at the Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association (DEPOWA) School in Abuja on Thursday.
She said the unity of Nigeria and the peace experienced across the country would not have been possible without the sacrifices and determination of the Nigerian armed forces.
“I salute our service chiefs that are here today; we cannot stop thanking them; we must continue to say thank you to them.
“We say thank you and we say God bless you, because of what you do; we can sleep at night, because of your service; we can walk along the roads, because of your sacrifice; we are safer; we are stronger.
“Your presence here today is a great encouragement; it lends credence to the fact that you support one of the greatest investments that we can make – investing in the education of our children,’’ Mrs Osinbajo stated.
The wife of the vice president urged philanthropic organisations and individuals to support the cause of the vulnerable segment of the society.
She said supporting the less privileged in the society was a way of contributing to the success of the present administration’s programmes and policies.
She also urged Nigerians to demonstrate more love and patriotism for Nigeria by contributing to the development of the country.
On her part, the President of DEPOWA, Mrs Omobolanle Olonisakin, solicited the support of Nigerians to the actualisation of the DEPOWA school expansion project.
She said the goal of the project was to give more children access to quality and affordable education in the school.
“It is a laudable project because it is going to be a storey building of 20 classrooms, so it can accommodate more students in the school.
“Actually, we have had reasons to turn prospective students back, like I said 100 per cent success in the last common entrance was recorded for the pupils of this school.
“So that is why we know it is very important to give other children the opportunity to come and learn here, qualitative education, that is what should be for our future leaders,’’ Mrs Olonisakin said.
On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, extolled the contributions of DEPOWA and related associations to the high standard of education in military barracks across the country.
He urged corporate bodies and individuals to support DEPOWA’s school expansion project, stressing that it would impact positively on the lives of members of the barrack community.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CDS was accompanied to the occasion by the service chiefs and the representative of the Inspector General of Police.
NAN reports that other dignitaries at the occasion include the national presidents of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Police officers wives association. (NAN)