By Monday Ijeh
The Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) has honoured a 96-year-old retired police officer and six others as part of activities to mark the 70 years of women in policing.
Alhaji Mogaji Olaniyan, the National Chairman of PCRC, on Saturday in Abuja, said the 96-year-old retired officer, Stella Okuyiga, was one of the pioneer set of 20 women to join the Nigeria Police Force.
Olaniyan said PCRC had delegated some of its members to Port Harcourt to present the award and monetary support to Okuyiga, while others were awarded in Abuja.
He said six other retired senior female police officers honoured for their meritorious contributions to national security are Aisha Shaibu, Phoebe Niyel, Patu Daniel, Mariam Daniel, Scholastica Ovie, and Aina Usman.
The PCRC chairman said the award to the retired senior female police officers was part of a campaign to ensure that women who served in the Nigeria Police force were encouraged.
“In my three years of leadership of PCRC, I have secured major employment opportunities for retired male senior police officers, but similar openings for women are still largely lacking.
“We know that if we empower retired female police officers, they can do better than men.
“As the oldest support group of the Nigeria Police Force, we understand their capacity,” he stated.
He said PCRC was not an employment generating organisation but drove national advocacy for the engagement of retired female officers in government and private sector.
“We want organisations and governments to start giving them opportunities because they can do better. Today’s event is the beginning of that advocacy,” he said.
Olaniyan said the award ceremony brought together chairmen from the 36 states of the federation, as well as zonal, airport, railway and marine chapters of the PCRC.
The PCRC boss said the gathering was in demonstration of unity and collective commitment to advancing community policing in Nigeria.
He pledged the commitment of the PCRC to continue to support the Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to achieve the goal of policing the country effectively.
“We choose today to demonstrate our support and encouragement for the I-G and so the PCRC leaders have again, passed a vote of confidence in him.
“We wrote to the I-G to give us one retired female officer from each geopolitical zone, and he obliged us.
“He is always listening to us because he believes so much in the community policing system,” Olaniyan said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Yakubu Uba
