The People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) have applauded Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for providing palliatives for the vulnerable in Enugu State to cushion the effects of hardship occasioned by COVID- 19 pandemic.
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Ugwuanyi had made available items including bags of Coal City brand rice, bags of maize and millets, cartons of noodles, assorted beverages, cartons of soft drinks, tomato paste, seasonings and bottles of water.
Public Relations Officer of Association of the Blind in Enugu State, Mr Jonathan Nwafor, receiving palliative items at Udenu Local Government Area of the state on Monday, commended the governor for the provision.
Nwafor described Ugwuanyi as God-sent, and a special gift to the people of the state, especially the vulnerable and needy.
He said that Ugwuanyi, through the stimulus package, again, demonstrated his immense love for the vulnerable.
“Please, extend our sincere gratitude to the governor and tell him that we appreciate this gesture; that we are praying for him, and that we shall continue to ask God to preserve him and provide for him,’’ Nwafor said.
Similarly, the State Coordinator, Disability Support Forum for Gburugburu (DSFG), Mr Chuka Eze, also appreciated the governor’s gesture.
“In the history of Enugu State, even under the old Anambra State, PLWDs have never felt recognized and cared for like under Ugwuanyi’s dispensation.
“The governor is really a God-sent to us, and to Enugu State, in general. He always puts smiles on our faces and we are grateful to God for that,’’ Eze said.
Earlier, Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Dr Kingsley Udeh, said that the governor had instructed that the items “must be distributed directly to the beneficiaries and nobody would receive any item by proxy’’.
Udeh enumerated other PLWDs clusters to receive the palliatives, including Oji River, Agbani, Udi, Awgu and Enugu City.
He said that the Udenu centre would cover Udenu and Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area clusters.
“His Excellency targeted PLWDs for this special exercise, because they are the most vulnerable in the prevailing emergency situation, which is the lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.
“Many of these people (PLWDs) survive by daily charity they receive from spirited individuals and they have now been constrained to stay at home.
“But as a concerned governor and in his usual compassion, His Excellency has given you relief materials and delegated me to supervise and ensure that they are judiciously shared among the real target recipients across the state,” he said.
Udeh, who doubles as the State Focal Person for Open Government Partnership, did not disclose the monetary value of the palliative items, but noted that several millions of naira had been spent for the exercise statewide.