COMMOTION IN OKWE AS OSHIMILI SOUTH FOOD BANK COMMITTEE SHARES PALLIATIVES

An attempt by the Oshimili south local government food bank committee to directly distribute the state government’s COVID – 19 Food Bank palliatives to residents of Okwe ward 3 on Sunday turned out a bitter experience.

It was all the idea of the Council Chairman, Honourable Uche Osadebe, who preferred dealing directly with the beneficiaries as against handing over the food items to the ward committees to share.

Okwe primary school was the venue, where over 2,000 persons, mainly youths, had gathered waiting for the Chairman and his team to arrive with a truck load of food.

Sooner than expected, Honourable Osadebe and his entourage arrived the arena with a mini truck, conveying 21 by 100kg bags of beans, 210 by 10kg bags of rice and some cartons of Indomie Noodles.

On sighting the truck and sensing that the content would not go round one quarter of the crowd, the youths became restive and ordered the truck and the team to leave, throwing stones at them and in the process smashed the windscreen of two vehicles, including that of the Council Chairman.

On leaving the scene with the assistance of the DPO Police ‘ B ‘ Division and his men, the Chairman vowed not to take the food items back to Okwe until after every other ward had received its consignment, but the intervention and assurances of the member representing Oshimili south in the State Assembly, Honourable Shedrack Rapu and former State PDP Chairman, Chief Edwin Uzor made him to change his mind.

The mini truck headed back to the primary school ground where less than 500 persons believed to be the target vulnerable had queued up to receive their shares of the palliatives, with operatives of the Okwe Community Vigilante manning the get, while over 1000 others who were denied access waited outside the fence.

The Council Chairman had started the distribution of the items in a peaceful and orderly manner when suddenly the primary school gate was thrown open for all to troop into the arena, with the attendant chaos and defiance of the social distancing rule.

The crowd became uncontrollable and all who were to assist Honourable Osadebe in tackling the challenge, including members of his committee left.

Before the confusion set in some elderly persons, pregnant women and nursing mothers had received their share of 10kg bag of rice each, while 20 persons shared a 100kg bag of beans.