Magnus Eze, Enugu
No fewer than 15,000 households in Enugu state have been targeted in the ongoing distribution of palliatives by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama to cushion the hardship caused by the COVID-19 lockdown.
This was as he continued presentation of items to the community of northern Muslims in the state in commemoration of the Eid-el-Fitri celebration on Monday.
The donations made through Onyeama’s Kwusike Foundation saw his representatives visiting two Muslim communities at Enugu metropolis and Ugwuoba in Oji River Local Government Areas of the state.
A former Commissioner for Finance in the state, Chief Okey Ogbodo, who represented the minister, said the gesture was in furtherance of his assistance to residents of the state in this period of pandemic and also to enable the Muslim faithful have an eventful sallah celebration.
He urged them to face the pandemic with prayers as well as abide by the safety protocols prescribed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Leader of the Northern Community in the state, Alhaji Abubakar Sambo, who received the items in Enugu, said they could not have come at a better time.
While thanking Onyeama for his intervention, Sambo lamented that Muslims in the state could not feast with their Christian friends this period because of COVID-19.
“We have sacrificed a lot as a result of this pandemic and I pray that God will continue to unite us and give our leaders the wisdom to lead,” he said.
Meanwhile, Executive Director of Kwusike Foundation, Chief Flavour Eze has disclosed that at least additional 10, 000 bags of 10kg rice will be distributed in the third tranche of Onyeama’s intervention in the state.
He said the minister had discovered that a lot of vulnerable people in the rural communities were not reached during the distribution of the first and second tranches of the palliative items which had covered over 5,000 households.