‘Equitable distribution of palliative measures will check citizens’ unrest’

• Cleric donates food items to Ajegunle, Ojo residents
• NGO deploys community-led intervention to feed Lagosians
• WIMBIZ, CAP, LifeBank partner to take relief to low-income households

The General Overseer of the Resurrection Praise Ministries For Africa, Archbishop Samson Benjamin, has urged the Federal Government to use the €50 million donation by the European Union (EU) as palliative measures for the masses. Archbishop Benjamin made the call at Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area yesterday when his ministry visited and shared food items worth thousands of naira to the needy in Ajegunle and Ojo communities.
 
Over 200 people benefited from the food items, which included rice, beans, garri, condiments as well as Vitamin C to help boost the immune system. The cleric said the gesture was to complement the efforts of government in reaching out to the masses and distributing relief materials during the lockdown.
 
He said that using part of the EU’s donations as palliative measures would go a long way in alleviating poverty and ensuring people obey the stay-at-home order during this period of crises in the society and prevent further spread of the disease.

Benjamin, also president, African Economic Empowerment Initiative and Foundation for World Peace and Conflict Resolution, appealed to all religious bodies and well-meaning Nigerians to give back to the society at this difficult time. He said that preaching the gospel was not just about talking to people alone from the Holy Books but about also demonstrating humanitarian works that could actually impress on people what your religion represents.

Employing a technology-driven initiative to provide for vulnerable residents during the lockdown, a non-govermental organisation, The Project Ark, has rolled out food distribution in Ikota community of Lagos State. The initiative, which was launched in response to the plight of the homeless, low-income and daily wage earners distributed food items to 500 households in Ikota with a commitment to feeding 4,000 more households for the duration of the lockdown.

Project Ark presents a technology-enabled, systematic and strategic approach to collecting and distributing dry and cooked foods, as well as sanitary items by employing a ‘One for all, All for one’ method that ensures no one is left to starve or in danger of infection. Beyond a call for donations from Nigerians, Project Ark aims to support and enhance the work of other initiatives distributing relief materials in the fight against COVID-19.

“We want to go beyond giving handouts to encouraging a united effort towards solving the challenges we face as a people. An attitude of caring for our neighbours is much needed in these times and even afterwards. We want people to be able to adopt this system and implement it in their own communities to solve different social challenges”, said Alero Ayida-Otobo, the Visionary of Reformers Arise Network and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Project Ark.

Meanwhile, a double-edged partnership has been struck by Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) and LifeBank Nigeria by Chemical and Allied Products (CAP) Plc, manufacturer of premium paint brand, Dulux, to combat COVID-19. In its partnership with WIMBIZ, the company donated relief packs worth millions of naira to low income households in its host community, Seriki-Aro Ikeja, Mushin, Aguda-Surulere, Ijeh, Ikorodu, and Orile.

CAP Plc also teamed up with LifeBank to provide medical supplies such as kits and oxygen in tanks to hospitals and facilities treating COVID-19 patients nationwide. Chairperson, CAP Plc, Awuneba Ajumogobia, said: “We believe that social distancing and staying at home are great ways to flatten the COVID-19 curve and eventually contain its spread, hence, our alignment with the government’s decision in locking down states that have been impacted. However, given the nature of our country, there are many low-income household individuals who depend on daily survival wages and will be negatively affected during this period of total lockdown, hence, our intervention.”

WIMBIZ chairperson, Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo and LifeBank’s CEO, Temie Giwa-Tubosun, expressed delight with the partnership with CAP Plc, noting that such acts of responsible citizenship and collaborations that directly impact the low-income households were needed to win the COVID-19 war.