Obinna Odogwu, Awka
The Anambra State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has announced that it would be committing N125 million to assist the federal and state governments in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
The party said that from the amount, it would also be donating the sum of N300,000 and other packages to each of the 179 communities in the state as part of its contributions to cushion the harsh economic effects arising from the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The Chairperson of the Anambra PDP Palliative Committee, Mrs Chidi Onyemelukwe, while briefing reporters at the party’s secretariat in Awka, the Anambra State capital, added that the party would build a COVID-19 testing centre within 21 days as soon as the state or federal government approves a space or location for that purpose.
Onyemelukwe, who was also the deputy governorship candidate of the party in the 2017 governorship election in the state, said that the party has been touched by the challenges being faced by the people, particularly the disadvantaged, and has therefore decided to reach out to them.
‘While we know that the federal and the Anambra State governments will and have been doing a lot to help the people restart their lives, we in PDP Anambra deem it imperative as a party and as a people to, once again, rise up and support our people, especially the most vulnerable ones, to get back on their feet,’ she said.
‘We are, therefore, committing the sum of N125,000,000 towards this purpose. In line with our strict position of ensuring accountability and transparency to the public on contributions and expenditures, we wish to give a breakdown of what the N125,000,000 entails as follows:
‘Anambra State, owing to its economic and commercial importance to our nation, deserves to have a COVID-19 testing lab in place. PDP Anambra State is, therefore, committing to setting up a standard COVID-19 testing lab within 21 days of adequate space being provided by either the Anambra State government or in the alternative, the federal government.
‘We are, therefore, requesting the federal government of Nigeria and the Anambra State government to provide us with a space either at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka, or any of the hospitals in Anambra State, donated to the federal government by the Catholic Church, to set up a standard COVID-19 testing lab for this purpose.
‘We will be donating to each community in Anambra State the sum of N300,000. This will enable the communities to give 60 least privileged persons/families in each community N5000 each to help them start life again and contribute to their business revival in this post lockdown era.
‘While there are 179 communities in Anambra State, there are some additional areas that, we believe, need to be accommodated. For example, Onitsha Urban area (Onitsha North and Onitsha South LGA), Obosi town (Obosi Urban and Obosi Village), Okpoko area in Ogbaru, etc, are some of the communities we considered as 2-in-1.
‘N105,000 will be used to provide food, cash and other items, as palliatives, directly to each ward in our communities.’
The Chairman of the party in the state, Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu, thanked party stakeholders including Mr Peter Obi who donated N40 million, Senators Stella Oduah and Uche Ekwunife who donated N10 million each, and many others, for their financial contributions for the relief project.