Okowa reiterates commitment to alleviate plight of widows
Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has reiterated the commitment of his administration to alleviate the suffering of widows in the state.
Okowa stated this while declaring open the 1st National Summit On Widows’ Right And Welfare, held on Wednesday in Asaba.
Okowa, who was represented by his deputy, Deacon Kingsley Otuaro, said that the state Widows Welfare Scheme was borne out of God’s inspiration to address issues relating to widows in the state.
He commended the scheme and the programme put together by the office of the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Social Investment Programmes as well as the World Bank Delta Cares Livelihood Support Unit.
Okowa advised widows to continually pray for the state to have more resources to achieve the vision of the “Stronger Delta’’.
In his address, the SSA to Okowa on Social Investment Programmes, Mr Isioma Okonta, noted that Delta was the only state out of the 36 states running the scheme.
Okonta, who is also the State Coordinator Widows Welfare Scheme, said that there were 5,607 widows enrolled in the Welfare Scheme.
He noted that only verified poor and vulnerable widows residing in the state were eligible for enrollment in the scheme.
“The state government through the office of the widow’s welfare scheme has distributed 900 melon shelling machines and generating sets to selected widows in the three senatorial districts of the state,” he said.
Okonta also said that the state government had directed that payment of the widows should be made directly to the individual widows’ bank accounts to ensure transparency and accountability. (NAN)
