Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, has donated N10 million toward fighting the coronavirus in Ekiti.
This is coming barely 24 hours after Gov. Kayode Fayemi announced an eight-man Support Account Committee to tackle the pandemic in the state
Bamidele, who represents Ekiti Central Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), said that the donation was his way of identifying with the state government and the people in combating the pandemic.
The senator’s Senior Legislative Aide, Mr Bunmi Oguntuase, announced the donation in a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday.
Bamidele, according to the statement, explained that this patriotic zeal was an additional step by him after the 109 senators had resolved to donate half of their monthly salaries to the National COVID-19 Account.
The federal lawmaker advised the National Assembly caucus from Ekiti, as partners in progress, to harness efforts with Fayemi at this trying period to safeguard the populace from affliction and untimely death.
He added that the gesture was part of the resolve of the National Assembly members from Ekiti to partner in containing the pandemic.
“I, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele has started by donating a sum of N10 million to fight the scourge.
“Other federal lawmakers from Ekiti will definitely do something in a matter of days as well.
“A sum of N5 million has been paid into the State’s COVID-19 account while the remaining N5 million will go into the centrally coordinated food drive initiative specifically targeted at the vulnerable population in the senatorial district.
“I am appealing to other illustrious leaders, sons and daughters of Ekiti to join hands with the state government by contributing sacrificially to the COVID-19 account to augment what government can mobilise.
“The House of Representatives members and senators from Ekiti had since last week been distributing hand sanitizers, hand washing soaps and buckets in their various constituencies.
“This came barely 24 hours after Governor Fayemi’s statewide broadcast where he appealed to well-meaning Ekiti stakeholders to join hands in waging war against coronavirus.
“This underscored the fact that the cord of unity among public officials remains strong and such strength was being deployed to develop human capital resources of our dear state,” he said.