By Ojotule Romanus
Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, has said the distribution of the first batch of food and non-food items to 1,500 widows across the 21 Local Government Areas in the state, is in fulfillment of a vow he made while growing up to better the lives and livelihood of widows.
It will be recalled that the state government, through its “Food Support Outreach” empowered 50 widows each from the 21 Local Government Areas in the state as part of the efforts to emulerat their challenges.
Items distributed includes, bags of rice, seasoning, oil, spaghetti, clothes and cash.
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Speaking during the distribution of the items held at the Muhammad Buhari Civic Center in Lokoja, the governor stated that the program was not just another charity event but a moment of the heart and a day of deep emotion for him.
He pointed out that while growing up as a child, he understood the pains of the less privileged from the point of view of an adult experiencing hardship.
His words, ” from the window of my grand mother’s home, I watched widows returned from the farms late in the evening, their faces tired but their spirits unbroken, they toiled not just for themselves but for the children left behind by fate”.
” It was there, I made a silent vow, a vow to God Almighty and to myself that, if I have the chance, I will do all it takes to make life better for the widows”.
Governor Ododo said he was happy today that he was fulfilling the vow; just as he pointed out that his administration was committed to creating a better society for the vulnerable in the state.
Apart from the distribution of the food and financial support to the widows, he said his administration was also laying a foundation for a strong support system that includes skills training, access to health care, small business funding and education for the children.
The governor further assured the widows of his administration’s commitment towards embarking on programs and empowerment initiatives that would restor confidence and give hope to the vulnerable in the state.
While calling on all well meaning indigenes of the state to see care for the widows as a moral duty and a sacred responsibility, he emphasised the need for all assundry to join hands with the government in it’s effort to “create a society where no widows is left behind and no child of a nobody is denied a better future”.
Earlier, the State Coordinator of Kogi Widows, Mrs. Ojone Ojattah, revealed that the governor’s commitment to the welfare of Kogi widows has been able to provide widow hope and allayed their fear of isolation.
Mrs. Ojattah while commending the governor and his wife, Hajia Sefinat Ododo for what she described as ” lofty initiatives”, asserted that the governor has demonstrated an unalloyed commitment to transform lives and livelihood of the people in the most remoted and most deprived community in the society.
According to her, this was the first time Kogi widows were feeling the impact of the government in the state adding that, with this gesture, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo was writing a new and a better story of the state.
