The Olu of Warri His Majesty Ogiame, Ikenwoli 1 has revealed that God knows the reason he allowed COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of a new decade and prayed that the scourge should return just the way it came.
The royal father stated this while receiving members of the General TY Danjuma (retd)-led Victims Support Fund (VSF) COVID-19 Task Force, at his palace in Warri, Delta State at the weekend.
Ogiame was optimistic that with the supports being rendered by various philanthropists to indigent Nigerians since the advent of COVID-19, there’s hope that Nigeria will survive and be united.
The revered monarch thanked the COVID-19 task force led by Mrs Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, who presented palliatives comprising rice in 10kg, beans in 10kg, garri in 10kg vegetable oil in 4litres and salt in 2kg as well as Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) to the government and people of the state.
While presenting the items to the representative of the Warri Monarch, Chief Clement Maleghemi, Mrs Akerele-Ogunsiji, said the monetary value of the items the task force donated to Delta State alone were worth N154.5 million, targeting 2, 758 vulnerable homes.
She said 266, 532, 266 and 266 households of the most vulnerable were drawn from five local governments namely: Warri, Warri South-West, Oshimili North and Warri South respectively.
According to her, the distribution would be carried out under the watchful eyes of the taskforce by some selected reputable CSOs in what she tagged the second phase of the programme in Edo, Delta, Enugu, Ebonyi and Ekiti states.
Speaking further on the philanthropic gesture, Mrs Ogunsiji said the overall target was at least 200, 000 households, urging the CSOs across the beneficiary states to ensure probity in the distribution.
“With the intention that this food will reach the indigent and vulnerable families of Delta State.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19, we are aware that a lot of citizens have lost their jobs, a lot of companies are unable to function at full capacity. The government is operating at a very slow speed.
“A lot of things have come to a grounding halt because of the fear of human to human transmission of coronavirus and definitely looking into ensuring that we as the first private-led humanitarian initiative in Nigeria, we support the citizens to ensure that their economic status and livelihood are not totally destroyed in the middle of this pandemic that we really never prepared for,” she noted.