By CHARLES IWUOHA

Enugu youths under, the aegis of Nkanu Youths Assembly, has distributed food palliatives and cash worth N2 million to cushion effect of hardship of COVID-19 on indigent residents of the state.

The cash and food items, including bags of rice, tubers of yam and cartons of noodles, is being distributed in six council areas within Enugu East Senatorial District.

Speaking during the distribution of the items to the organisation’s local government coordinators in Enugu on Sunday, its President, Mr. Maduabuchukwu Edeani, said that the palliative was meant for indigent residents in the villages.

Edeani said that the indigent villagers would receive food items and some cash token to support their individual efforts to check hunger in their various families.

He said: “This gesture is to support the vulnerable in villages of the six council areas of Nkanu land and we will supervise the distribution to ensure that only the indigent at the villages gets these palliatives.

“It is also part of efforts to support Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in his enormous efforts to provide palliatives and ensure its gets to the right people that actually needed them in this trying time occasioned by COVID-19.”

Mr. Pascal Ugwu, Chairman, Enugu State Chapter of National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), said that it was highly commendable for youths in Nkanu land to show high level of patriotism and responsibility this period.

Ugwu said that the palliative being distributed would go a long way to show love and care to the poorest of the poor, who most times reside in the villages and remote areas.

Igwe Linus Okafor, traditional ruler of Obeagu Uno community near Enugu, said that he was shocked to see what a youth group could put together to assist indigent directly and by extension assisting traditional rulers and the government as well.

“What I see here today is a challenge; and I will relate it to other traditional rulers in our meetings both within local council and state levels to see how we can collectively do more for our indigent people,” Okafor said.

The Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Organization, Chief Chibuike Oha, noted that it was a welcome development that Nkanu Youths Assembly can rally round and contribute to this laudable project.

Oha said that the palliatives by the youths stood as a challenge that everyone could join the government to support the vulnerable and poor around us.

The Spiritual Director of organization, Rev. Chimaobi Aninwene, called on political office holders, who had not done anything, to support the hungry and indigents this trying time.

“This is the time to show love, time to show true representative, time to support people that voted under the sun to ensure you are elected especially the indigent,’’ Aninwene, who is a senior pastor of Redemption Church, Enugu, said.

The six council areas to benefit from the palliatives include, Enugu North, Enugu East, Enugu South, Nkanu East, Nkanu West and Isi Uzo Local Government Areas.