From Steve Oko
Minister of State for Steel and Solid Minerals, Uche Ogah at the weekend, commenced distribution of large quantity of food items as palliatives to Abia indigenes to cushion the effects of the Covid -19 lockdown in the state.
The items include 20,000 bags of rice ranging from 5kg to 50kg , 1000 bags of 100kg beans, 10,000 cartons of indomie noodles and spaghetti as well as hand sanitizers.
Distributing the items at his Onuaku Uturu country home, Ogah said he was touched by the economic hardship people of the state were passing through as a result of the Covid -19 lockdown which had affected economic activities all over the world.
The 2019 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who spoke through the Director General of his Campaign Organisation, Mr. Kingsley Ugbaja, urged Abians not to despair but have confidence in God for his protection against the dreaded disease.
He also urged the people to carefully observe all the necessary protocols and personal hygiene against the global pandemic, adding that the scourge is not a death sentence.
Ogah noted with delight that the cases of the pandemic was not high in the state but urged the people to the vigilante and comply with government directives towards stemming the spread.
He said the palliatives which were his personal contribution in the fight against the pandemic, and a way of identifying with the people at this trying time, would get to every family in the state.
According to him the relief materials will be distributed in batches until it reaches every household particularly the vulnerable groups.
Meanwhile some of the beneficiaries at the event include the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Abia State chapter; APC members in all 17 councils in the state, community leaders as well as journalists including on-line media practitioners in the state.
In his response, the CAN Chairman in the state, Rev. Emmanuel Agomuo who led all the leaders of the five blocs in the Christian body, commended Ogah for the gesture.
He said it was the first time any private individuals would be giving out massive palliatives in the state to complement government’s efforts.
The cleric who promised equitable distribution of the materials prayed God to bless the donor, while urging other privileged people in the state to emulate him.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Comrade Obinna Ibe, thanked the Minister for including journalists on the list of beneficiaries of his stimulus package.
Ibe noted that journalists have put their lives on the line as part of those at the front lines in the fight against the pandemic, but often neglected.
He said Ogah had by the gesture, encouraged journalists not to relent in their sacrificial services to society.
In the same vein, the Chairman of Abia State Online Media Practitioners Association, Comrade Ugochukwu Nwankwo, thanked Ogah for extending his good gestures to members of the association.
He prayed God to bless him, and urged others to also encourage media practitioners especially this period.
