Wife of the Governor of Ondo State, Chief (Mrs) Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, has expressed the need to look after widows wherever they may be and care for them, describing them as vulnerable persons in the society.
The First Lady made the declaration, on Wednesday, at a programme tagged Ada Owere Widows’Care Initiative, where Mrs Akeredolu donated palliatives to indigent widows in the constituent communities in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State.
“Widows are widows anywhere they may be in the country. I have looked at the conditions of widows in this country. Their situation is not okay. I have them around me and I feel for them.When the Covid broke out, I saw how the widows were relegated to the background and I was convinced that there was a need to create a niche for them in order to give support.
“We classify them as vulnerable people in the society, so, for you to reach out to them, there is the need to separate them from the entire society, and that was what I did.We created a website and a database for the widows in Ondo State and the distribution of the palliatives was so successful.I took it to my own community and it was widely successful also.” Mrs Akeredolu said.
Held at the Eze Onuegwunwoke Office Complex, Owerri North Council Headquarters, Orie, Uratta, Owerri, Imo State Capital, the programme was organised by the Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu Foundation (BAAF) in collaboration with Ndi Ugoeze, Owerri North Local Government Area.
Recall that the entire 54 communities in Owerri Federal Constituency comprising three council areas of Owerri Municipal, Owerri West and Owerri North conferred on Mrs Akeredolu the prestigious Ada Owere 1 title on August 14, 2021.
The governor’s wife who promised to continue to give support to the women of Owerri, said, “When I was given the title of Ada Owere 1, I promised that I will be with them and that I will not receive the title and run away. This is not just a title, it’s for work. I have started and I will continue.”
Earlier, the widows who took turns to register for and pick the pallatives, thanked the First Lady for always reaching out to them.
Wives of the traditional rulers in Owerri North Local Government Area, Chieftains of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Senior Special Assistant on Administration, Mrs Lizzy Akpan, and Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Rowland Onyeukwu, among others, attended the programme.
Story Credit: Debo Akinbami
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