Over 500 widows, youth and women have benefitted from the feeding support programme of Lift Up Care Foundation founded by Mrs. Lami Onayi Ahmed in Kogi state.
Speaking in her country home, Idoma-Obehira in Okene Local Government of Kogi state, where she fed over 500 persons, Mrs. Ahmed, noted that one of the needs of the people is food, saying that was why she decided to also provide food for the people yearly to foster the spirit communality , in addition to other interventions she provided periodically through the NGO.
“This is what we have been doing periodically since 2002 when Lift Up Care Foundation came on board. We have organized a lot of robust programmes that has positive impact on the people at the grassroots.
“Our focus has been on the elderly, widows, youth education and health. One of the key focus of the NGO is stomach infrastructure because some body who hasn’t eaten very well can not be healthy. Somebody who is sick or going to school needs food.
“Therefore one basic thing that human being need to survive is food and that is why periodically we call people together and feed them particularly the aged who are vulnerable in the community and this is an opportunities for them to come and enjoy a quality meal.
“Through this programme you can always see the happiness and joy on their faces. The purpose of the programme is to support the people with our food support project which is inline with other things we do as NGO in the area of health , education , youth and women empowernment.
“We are delighted that over the years we have been surviving through the support of some donors who are stakeholders that we work with.Today in this Obehira community we have plan to feed over 500 people and you can see how the people are coming out in their numbers and in orderly manner” she said.
Speaking on the current administration, Mrs Ahmed said it takes a courageous and bold leader like President Bola Tinubu to take measures to correct decades of wrought and decay in the Nigeria system, not minding the consequences on his popularity.
She regretted that the subsidy regime which only benefited a few Nigerians in the past, only help to destroy the foundation of Nigeria, saying that the removal of the fuel subsidy would reposition the economy for efficiency and greater good of the nation and it’s people .
“Only few Nigerians have been benefiting from the payment of fuel subsidy. This is counterproductive. How many of you have benefited from several years of subsidy payment. certainly non of you. It has only helped to retrogress the country’s development.
“Some will even say this is not the right time. If I may ask, when is the right time. All the indices currently showed that the policy reforms are yielding positive results. It will get better on the long run.
“Take for example the past reform in the telecoms Sector some years back. As difficult as it was then, the result has shown that it was the best decision ever in that sector. At a point people were buying MTN lines for over N50, 000. Competition came in and the situation changed for good. As at today, some of the telecoms service providers were giving the lines out free of charge. It will happen in the oil sector.
“I know it’s not easy for our people. Every reform poses difficulty for the people, not only in Nigeria. But let us focus on the end result. We are already seeing positive signs. As a key player in the industry for several years, I’m very optimistic that it will get better by the day. “