By Valentine Amanze
The Vice Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has urged churches in Nigeria to remember Nigeria in their prayers, especially now that the whole world is being ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
Obi spoke yesterday through the Chairman of his Coronavirus Palliatives Committee and former Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning in Anambra State, Professor Chinyere Stella Okunna, during the continued sharing of his palliative items to various churches in Nigeria.
Okunna explained that the intention of Mr. Peter Obi was for the items to reach the least privileged among the congregation.
The Vice Chairman of the Committee, Chief Joe-Martin Uzodike, said that the palliatives were divided into five components, namely: reaching the poorest through the Church; provision of hospital items to selected hospitals, out of which 31 hospitals have benefitted across the country; reaching the poorest in all the towns in Anambra through the PDP party structure.
He said that those hospitals that received material items would also benefit from monetary intervention very soon.
He said that the final component would be the post-COVID-19 initiatives.
The benefitting churches were united in the pledge of prayers for His Excellency and the country, which they said they had been doing even before the request.
The churches that benefitted in yesterday’s palliatives are: Seed of David, Redeemed Christian Church, Awka; Christ Holy Church International, Awka; Rhema Chapel, Umunya; St. Andrews’s Methodist Church, Onitsha; Messianic Faith Assembly Int’l, Nnewi.
The Association of People living with Sickle Cell Disorder also benefitted from Obi’s COVID-19 intervention.
Their leader, Aisha Edwards Maduagwu said Obi’s intervention did not come to them as a surprise, going by his infinite readiness to always contribute to the amelioration of human difficulties.
Representing the sentiments of the benefiting
churches, the head of the Salvation Army, Envoy Levi Muonagor, said that when the churches in the state recalled Obi’s performance and his disposition to do good, that nothing he did by way of expressing the love he had for God and his children surprised anyone.
He described him as a “rare Nigerian and God’s precious gift to humanity.”
He assured that the donated items would reach those Obi had in mind – the poorest in the society.
Other members of the Coronavirus Palliative Committee were Dr. Patrick Obi, Dr. Chike Collins Ohamobi and Mr. Valentine Obienyem.