"COVID-19 palliatives being distributed to widows across the state is not politically motivated"
The First Lady of Ondo state and the initiator of Ondowidowscare initiative, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu stated this at Ose Local Government Area Secretariat, Ifon today.
Mrs Akeredolu noted that the gesture was to succour all identified widows, regardless of their political parties’ affiliation, due to the COVID-19 crisis, which other institutions, organisations and individuals had also been doing.
"This was contrary to insinuations in some quarters recently that the gesture was a political campaign." she said
Arabinrin Akeredolu, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Gender, Research and Documentation, Mrs Temitope Daniyan, also debunked the rumour that some of the palliatives are being diverted for personal gains.
”I want to tell you that this programme is not political. There is no political or religious affiliation. If you are a widow, just go online and register, it is an internet thing. It is open to every widow in Ondo state.
“We are at Ose Local Government, which is the 14th Local Government. We have given about 300 widows palliative items and we have also attended to about 10 BEMORE girls.
“You can see for yourself. We are live here at Ose and you can see the women taking the palliatives items home. Nobody is taking anything that belongs to these women. They have the right to all the items given to them; they are meant for them”.
She urged those who had not registered to log on to http://www.ondowidows.com and do the registration, adding that the initiative is a continuous one for the widows.
Reacting to the exercise and the coordinated process in which it was carried out, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Political Mobilisation and Strategies and son of Ose LGA, Mr Olusola Okun described it as awesome.
In his words, ” This is awesome. It has never happened in the state. We were not expecting a huge crowd like this. I thank Arabinrin for this initiative because this will go a long way to assuage the suffering of the people.
“The first lady has done well. She has been going round and people have been praising her because in some states, they have stopped this palliatives but the First Lady still continues to put succour to the yearnings of our women and or widows”.
In their own reactions to the gesture, the widows were full of appreciation, praying for the initiator and for the governor to continue to pilot the affairs of the state for the next four years.
Mrs Agunbiade Idowu, Mrs Agnes Adetoba, Mrs Rolake Adedayo and other widows appreciated the First Lady for remembering them in this troubled time.
“May God bless Aketi and his wife. They have given us these items to help us, may God help them and their children”, Mrs Mary Atunwase from Ikaro prayed.
The BEMORE girls, who were adorned in their green vest, also thanked their “Solar Mother” for extending the gesture to them.
Ayodele Glory, Aladetan Aderounke and Ayo Elizabeth said, “We really thanked Arabinrin for what she has done for us. She is a woman, a mother indeed. We value her and we will forever be grateful for her impacts in our lives”.
The palliative distribution continues tomorrow in Akoko.
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