The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has made a donation of three million naira for food and the procurement of essential items to patients of the novel COVID-19 disease across all the six states in the South-West, including Kwara and Kogi States.
Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, who is also the National Coordinator of the group, made this known in a statement made available to newsmen by his office, saying the palliative was aimed at assisting the governments in ensuring better treatment for all the patients at the various isolation centres across the states.
Adams said the gesture became imperative following the intervention and initial efforts of members of the sister’s organisation in Diaspora, the Oodua Progressive Union (OPU), that donated funds and food items at the first phase of the palliative.
Aare Ona Kakanfo, while expressing concern over the rise in the figures of infection across the states despite efforts being made by the various Federal and state governments, however, urged them to look inwards, by using the traditional remedy to curtail the spread of the deadly disease as it was done in Madagascar.
ALSO READ: Ondo 2020: APC no longer functional in Ondo – Ayorinde, PDP aspirant
The Yoruba leader also informed that the second phase of the palliative was done with the intention to keep faith with the ideology of the group, saying it was the best way to extend the group’s hands of generosity to the victims of the deadly disease in South-West and beyond.
“It all began when members of OPU across all the 87 countries in the world contributed over five million for palliative for victims of COVID-19. That gesture came at a time when the lockdown was at its peak.
“The funds were meant for the procurement of essential items, such as food items and other necessities for the patients that have been receiving treatments at the isolation centres across the six states, including Kwara and Kogi States.
“So, the feedback we got from the first phase of the palliative was remarkable and it was the success that led to the second phase with the OPC contributing voluntarily across board to make the sacrifice,” Iba Adams said.
Adams, who recalled that the group had earlier inaugurated the COVID-19 Palliative Committee that sees to the distribution of the funds for the procurement of other essential items, maintained that the intention was to extend OPC hands of generosity to patients of COVID-19 that were mostly affected in the face of the pandemic and state of the nation and global economy.
“The intention is to extend our hands of generosity to patients of COVID-19 that are mostly affected. We noticed also that in the wake of this global pandemic, the Nigerian economy and that of the entire world has been stagnant, leading to the idea of putting in place various palliative measures extended mostly to victims as well as the vulnerable citizens in our country in order to cushion the effect of the ‘stay-at-home’ order of the Federal and state governments.
“Besides, each of our members made the contributions as sacrifice for our people and also for our race, at this difficult moment. It is not as if we are rich, we did it for posterity and that is the reason for raising the funds for the palliative,” he said.
“We are all aware of the present situation in the country, so for a socio-cultural group, and a non- governmental organisation like the OPC to have contributed that huge amount of money for food and for the procurement of other essential items for victims of COVID-19 at this trying period, I think our group has demonstrated a strong desire to impact the lives of our people and also cater to the needs of all our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, especially, in the South-West, Kwara and Kogi,” Aare Ona Kakanfo stated.
Meanwhile, Publicity Secretary of the group, Yinka Oguntimehin, in his own remark, said the donation was necessary and timely, declaring that OPC would be willing to play its roles to the Yoruba race in every situation.
“With this rare gesture, we have demonstrated great commitment and unprecedented gesture of charity to humanity. It is on record that the OPU was the first group in the diaspora to extend their hands of generosity to Nigerians.
“And interestingly, the OPC as a group with over six million members in Nigeria has done its part by making significant impact as one of the groups in the country to have donated generously towards alleviating the suffering of the people,” he said.
and then