The Igbo-Etiti Local Government Chairman, Dr Eric Odo, has announced his administration’s plan to pay monthly stipend to widows in the area.

Mr Odo announced the gesture on Wednesday, while addressing hundreds of widows, who paid him a courtesy visit in Ogbede, Enugu State.

He said that the council had the capacity to take care of the widows.

He stated his administration’s readiness to protect them from harmful cultural practices.

He disclosed that the stipend, which would be included in the 2025 budget, would go a long way in assisting them.

According to Mr Odo, it is the responsibility of the government to improve the welfare of the poor and to protect them.

He said, “The reason the government exists is to improve the welfare of the poor in society, not minding their educational qualifications. It is important for us to start addressing the issue of widows’ welfare, so that successive administrations will continue from where we stopped. The poor must be protected and cared for. What we have come to do is to change the status quo and give the poor and vulnerable ones an opportunity to lead a fulfilled life. Nobody will be short-changed under my administration, irrespective of the person’s social or economic status.’’

The council boss directed the Senior Special Adviser on Widows’ Affair, Esther Ugwuehi, to compile the names of “genuine widows, who truly deserved the stipend.”

Responding on behalf of the widows, Ugwuehi thanked the council chairman for the kind gesture, describing it as “unprecedented.”

She said that Mr Odo was the first council chairman in the state, who not only gave an audience to widows ,but also was determined to improve their welfare.

(NAN)