The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, GCON, has commended the Rotary Club and popular philanthropist, Sir Emeka Offor over their recent humanitarian activities particularly in the area of Polio eradication in Nigeria.
The SGF who joined the club members for a dinner Wednesday night at the Dunes Centre, Abuja said he was glad to be associated with the worthy causes being pursued by the Club and the businessman, as they were in the interest of the well being of the people, and also the ultimate desire of the present government.
It would be recalled that 2014 has been set for the total eradication of polio in Nigeria, as the country is still amongst a few others where the disease is still prevalent. To this end, Sir Offor has donated over $1.5million to the polio eradication cause, including a $1million donation to the group in Lisbon, Portugal, and $250 thousand on two occasions previous occasions.
Besides polio, Offor had also donated $250,000 to the Carter Center in support of its River Blindness Control Programme in the South East state of Nigeria, and another 250,000 euros to endow a professorship of glaucoma in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Mainz, Germany. This is to assist in the early detection and treatment of glaucoma.
Speaking earlier in the day, Sir Offor said the donations were partly borne out of his life experiences when he grew up losing many of his childhood friends to the deadly disease.
He stressed: “Rotary International is a service organisation committed to the uplifting of communities, and with over 1.2million members worldwide, and over 6,000 in Nigeria. Service is key to its aims and objectives and it aligns with my own philosophy, which is to contribute my quota to improving people’s quality of life”.
According to him, Polio as a deadly disease reduces human Capital and Nigeria is one of the few countries where polio is still common. Therefore, if other countries have eliminated it, there is no reason why we should still allow it in Nigeria. “The time to act is now”, he enthused. END
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