From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Obinna Odogwu and Stanley Uzoaru
Governorship candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Dr Obiora Okonkwo, has flagged off the rehabilitation of a dilapidated road in Okpoko community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The parish priest of St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church, Okpoko, Fr. Theophilus Odukwe, had cried out to the well-meaning individuals in the state to come to the aid of the people of the area following the failure of the government to repair the terribly dilapidated road.
The priest said that he had resolved to take up the job by himself since nobody came to their rescue before Okonkwo got wind of it and he declared interest to fund the entire project.
Speaking on the project, the governorship hopeful said he was touched when he heard about the plight of Okpoko people and resolved to immediately wipe their tears.
“We have come to Okpoko to show you love; to fraternize with you and to say that we know your pains, your needs, your problems and we are here for you. Okpoko has one of the hardest working populations in Anambra State.
“This is where people wake up by 5am starting their business of the day and they do not go to bed until 10pm. I have no doubt that these type of people, given appropriate support with the necessary facilities, will work hard enough to progress in life and help themselves and all the people around them.
“I know also that they don’t just need the road, they also need a good environment that is better than what you have now.
“I am disappointed that 30 years after the creation of Anambra State, we still have a place that can be regarded as a slum. This is a slum of the highest order”, Okonkwo lamented.
Meanwhile, Okonkwo gave a lifeline to a poor Enugu woman, Amarachi Nwachukwu, who collapsed near the venue of the flag off ceremony. The young lady who strapped her child at her back was passing by when the incident happened.
After she was resuscitated, she narrated that she was on her way to the market to buy a bag of sachet water to hawk. She said that she had borrowed N200 from someone for that purpose and that she had not eaten for two days.
Touched by her pathetic story, Okonkwo gave her the sum of N200,000 to start any business of her choice. He also asked the church to take her to a good hospital for medical treatment at his cost.