As the lockdown order by the Delta State Government enters its 29th day, members of the Delta State Chapter of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, NIESV, on Wednesday donated various food items to the aged, indigent and vulnerable persons in Warri and Asaba areas.

The communities which benefitted from the palliatives provided by the professional body included Alderstown, Pessu, and Market Road Warri, in Warri South LGA of Delta State. The same distribution, made in Asaba, was done simultaneously with Warri.

Accompanied by the Vice Chairman of Warri South Local Govt, Mrs. Ann-Divine Iniovosa, members of the Delta State Branch of NIESV,  presented the foodstuffs to the aged and the vulnerable in the three Warri communities.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Delta Assembly resumes sitting after six weeks break

The Chairman of the Delta State Chapter of NIESV, Esv Chris Okolo, said the gesture was to complement the efforts of the Delta State Government to cushion the economic effects of the lockdown on the masses.

The Estate Surveyor and Valuer noted that the decision for the donation was necessitated by the fact that the palliatives earlier distributed by the State Government and other groups might have been exhausted after 29 days of the stay at the home directive, aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus in the State.

He said their choice of those living in the interior area of Warri popularly referred to as “Ikpara” was for the palliatives to make more meaningful impacts. He expressed confidence that the gesture would help to reduce hunger and starvation even as the State Government has partially relaxed the lockdown order.

Esv Okolo explained that they decided to personally distribute the palliatives to the beneficiaries from door to door, in order to avoid diversion.

The NIESV Chairman noted that the choice of the aged, indigent and vulnerable as targets was due to the fact that they could not fend for themselves during the period, and urged them to adhere to the precautionary measures stipulated by the National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, in preventing the spread of the virus.

READ ALSO: Buhari extends tenure of NDDC interim management committee

The Vice-Chairman of Warri South Local Govt, Mrs. Ann-Divine Iniovosa, thanked the Chairman and members of NIESV for the gesture and the modality for distributing the items, noting that it would no doubt alleviate the plight of the lucky beneficiaries, and urged other groups to emulate the gesture.

The chairmen of the benefitting communities who could not hide their joy, thanked the group for the gesture, noting that it was the first time they got palliatives since the lockdown began.

More than five hundred aged and vulnerable persons in Warri benefitted from the NIESV palliatives.

vanguard