COVID-19: Abia Speaker intensifies sensitisation, commences free distribution of sanitizers

As part of his contributions to the fight against the rampaging Coronavirus, Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji MNSE, has intensified sensitisation of the people and commenced the free distribution of alcohol-based hand sanitizers to Abians.

In a statement to mark the commencement of the exercise on Monday, the Speaker said he embarked on the sensitisation and free distribution of the sanitizers to educate and ameliorate the people’s difficulty in accessing it because it has been priced out of the reach of the common man, advising dealers in sanitizers and similar products not to take advantage of the situation to rip the people off.

Speaking further on the exercise, the Speaker said, “During elections, I came to the masses to solicit for their votes with the promise that I will stand up for them both in good and bad times. When the report got to me that many of them could not afford the sanitizers, I decided to take up the responsibility and assist them as far as I could to ease their access to this vital item.

‘Let me use this opportunity to reiterate the fact that Coronavirus is not a death sentence and no one should panic about it but abide by all regulations and protocols established by the Abia state government and other relevant agencies so that the preventive, management and control measures put in place will be effective”, he concluded.

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Before the commencement of the exercise, a member of the distribution team, Dr Anya Kalu, who is also a medical doctor, had sensitized the beneficiaries on the need to maintain a hygienic lifestyle, follow the recommended social distancing and obey all the guidelines issued by the state government and other relevant agencies concerning the virus.

Reacting, some of the beneficiaries of the exercise at Orie Ugba market in Umuahia, one of the several centers where the distribution exercise took place, expressed gratitude to the Speaker for his kind gesture, saying with the distribution of the sanitizers to them, they feel safer. They also urged him to continue with his good works as Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly assuring him of their continued support and prayers.

The Speaker’s sensitisation exercise has continued through various channels including the use of both traditional and modern communication platforms to reach the people.

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