By Victoria Okpanachi
The Wife of Kogi Governor,Hajia Sefinat Usman Ododo, has flagged off the distribution of relief materials to widows across the 21 Local Government Area of the state.
The gesture which is in line with the Renewed Hope Initiative of the wife of the President, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, is designed to cushion the effect of daily life challenges.
The launch which took place in Lokoja, aims to also bring government support directly to the people.
Hajiya Ododo , who serves as Coordinator of the initiative in the state, emphasised the commitment of Sen. Remi Tinubu towards ensuring that women, especially widows, receive adequate care and attention.
In addition to the relief items, Hajiya Ododo personally supported the initiative with the sum of five million naira.
The Kogi first lady disbursed the cash gift with each widow present receiving the sum of ten thousand Naira (₦10,000), and the sum of one hundred and twenty thousand Naira (₦120,000) for transportation to ensure the smooth movement of the relief materials to the various Local Government.
She stressed that each widow would go back with a bag of rice, the National unity Cloth in addition to the sum of ten thousands naira each.
According to her, the Renewed Hope Initiative of Sen. Oluremi was tailored at empowering women to become self-reliant and economically independent.
She pledged to replicate the efforts of Sen. Tinubu in the State, with the support of her husband, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo.
In her opening remarks, the wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Margaret Oyibo, commended the widows for their turnout and expressed gratitude to the First Lady for her compassion and dedication to the welfare of widows.
She described widows as the “pillars of society” and assured them that the Kogi State Government, under Governor Ododo’s leadership, was dedicated to improving their lives through the initiatives of the First Lady.
The Coordinator of Association of widows in Kogi State, Mrs. Ojone Ojatah, also lauded the First Lady’s efforts noting that this was the first time widows in the state were receiving such recognition and support.
She then used the forum to pledged the full support of widows in the state to the Governor Ododo led administration.
During the event, Hajiya Ododo demonstrated motherly virtues by supporting a young lady, Ometere Andy, who has become the breadwinner of her family due to unforeseen circumstances.
She provided Ometere with a bag of rice and a financial contribution of ₦200,000 to help boost her shoe business and enable her care for her siblings.
