Wife of the Anambra State Governor, Chief Ebelechukwu Obiano, has promised that her office will build homes for the elderly in the three senatorial zones of the state to help provide better care for them. She made the promise at Ojoto in Idemili South Local Government Area and in Onitsha North LGA during a Thank-You Tour of the 21 LGAs of the state.

Mrs. Obiano assured the teeming crowd that turned up to welcome her that amenities and recreational facilities would be made available at the homes that would be built to help make the the old people feel good and age gracefully. “This is working in Lagos. It will happen here; our old ones need to be shown love and care before they answer call of nature. They are important to us no matter their ages. Old age is a virtue,” she said.

Mrs. Obiano said that the tour was meant to appreciate the women of the state for supporting and voting for her husband, Chief Willie Obiano, during the November 16, 2013 governorship election. She pointed out that the overwhelming support and prayers of the people yielded good fruits and assured them that they would not regret voting for her husband.

The Anambra first lady disclosed that she has registered an NGO called Caring Family Enhancement Initiatives (CAFÉ) in the USA to solicit funds from wealthy people and organisations over there who like partnering with developing countries like Nigeria. She assured that CAFE is an instrument that would be used to transform the lives of women and children in the state for good.

“The yearning of the women of this state has come to my notice and through CAFÉ, lots of developments in areas of skill acquisition, education, health care, farming, small-scale businesses, etc, will be made available for betterment of the women,” Mrs.Obiano said, adding: “I want to assist in poverty reduction in the state. Any child can be anything destined for him by God whether physically challenged or not. In Western world such people are encouraged to bring out and use their God-given endowment and contribute to their countries’ socio-economic and political development. It can happen in Anambra and it will happen.”

She called on women of the area to identify any psychically challenged children in the area who are out of school because of any impediment, promising that her office would train and educate such children.

The governor’s wife gave out over 1,000 bags of rice, fertilizer, exercise books, and N10,000 each to over 2,000 selected widows, indigent women, physically challenged people and school children in the areas visited.

Speaking at the occasions, the wives of Idemili South and Onitsha North local government areas, Mrs. Ogo Ezenwa and Mrs. Patricia Egbuna respectively, assured Mrs. Obiano of the women’s cooperation to make her programmes succeed. They asked for more empowerment of the women in their council areas through the distribution of food processing and agricultural machines. Among important personalities that graced the events were the traditional ruler of Alor, Igwe Mac-Anthony Okonkwo; deputy chairmen of Idemili South and Onitsha North LGs, Mr. Ifeany Ojukwu and Mr Chinedu Abuah; wife of the Obi of Onitsha, Mrs. Ngozi Achebe; community leader, Mrs. Angela Muofulnanya; President, Otu Odu of Onitsha, Mrs. Carlo Okosi; APGA Women Leader, Mrs. Chinwe Ibenta; Anambra Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Sunday Ajayi (represented by Mrs. Nkem Ibezim); and Mrs. Chinwe Thomson of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

•Photo shows Chief Ebelechukwu Obiano (right).

Update news