The Ben Akak Foundation has donated N500,000 and food items to the Palace of the Obong of Calabar to cushion the effect of the lockdown arising from the Covid -19 pandemic.
Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, Mr Ben Akak, said the donation was borne out of the desire to provide palliatives for the monarch and his subjects.
According to him, it was important for the foundation to reach out to the Obong in view of his role in maintaining the traditional institution in the state.
Akak explained that the foundation was established for charity works, humanity and women empowerment in other to create employment and engage the unemployed in meaningful activities.
“We are here today to identify with this palace and to contribute our quota to the palace within this period of Covid-19.
“We are here to show total submission to the throne and to also contribute our quota to the traditional institution in the state.
“We came here with foodstuffs ranging from rice, noodles, garri and others; including the sum of N500,000 cash for the palace.
“At this period, I wish to also call on other sons and daughter of the Efik Kingdom to look inward and see how they can reach out to the needy within this period”, he said.
Responding, the Obong of Calabar, His Eminence, Edidem Ekpo Abasi-Otu V, thanked Ben Akak for remembering the Palace during this period of Covid-19.
The Obong, who was represented by the Prime Minister of the Palace, HRH, Etubom Bassey Duke, expressed happiness that Cross River was still Covid-19 free.
He called on other sons and daughter of the Efik Kingdom to emulate the foundation by using their goodwill to reach out to the needy in the society.
He also called on residents in the state to adhere strictly to the guidelines of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control in other to contain the spread of the virus in the state.
Similarly, the foundation also donated rice and noodles to the Cross River Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Calabar.
Mr Victor Udu, the State Chairman of the NUJ, who received the items, thanked the foundation for remembering journalists in the state who were also in the frontline in the fight against Covid-19. (NAN)