The foundation also donated 1,000 bags of rice and 200 wrappers to the Anambra State Police Command.
The items were handed over to the Comptroller of the Correctional Service in Anambra State, Mr Usifo Joseph, and the state Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Adeoye, for onward distribution during a ceremony on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
In his address during the handover, the Chief of Staff, Emeka Offor Foundation, Mr Chris Ezike, said the gesture was the Foundation’s way of positively impacting the inmates in all the correctional centres so that when they are released, they will become better citizens.
Ezike said, “The Founder of the Foundation, Sir Emeka Offor, clocked 65 years old recently, and as humanitarians, we saw the reason why those that are incarcerated in correctional centres in Anambra, should also be part of the largesse to celebrate his birthday.
“The inmates need support financially, as well as in the form of guidance, to ensure that their time at the correctional facilities yield positive results in their lives and in the society as well.
“This is the first time the Foundation is reaching out to correctional centres across the state, and we have plans to make it a yearly event to ensure that we contribute our quota towards improving their conditions.
“The gesture is to extend a hand of care and support to inmates in correctional facilities across the state. Although the inmates might currently be undergoing rehabilitation, following several offenses they might have committed, we believe that when they are released, they will become useful members of society.”
He, therefore, urged the inmates to use the items, bearing in mind that the Foundation did it to show love for them despite their present condition.
The Comptroller of the Nigeria Correctional Service in Anambra State, Mr Usifo Joseph, who received the items, on behalf of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, thanked Sir Emeka Offor for his kind gesture.
Joseph said, “Sir Emeka Offor is indeed a rare gem. He has shown that he is a man with a large heart, who cares not just for himself or immediate family, but a man who truly cares for people whom he does not even know.”
He promised to distribute the items to the inmates across the state, which will help improve their welfare and well-being.
The correctional centres across the state will receive the items in the following order: Onitsha Correctional Centre will get 165 bags of rice, 411 cartons of noodles, and 20 cartons of disinfectant; Awka Correctional Centre will get 102 bags of rice, 256 cartons of noodles, and 13 cartons of disinfectant.
Nnewi Correctional Centre will get 82 bags of rice, 205 cartons of noodles, and 10 cartons of disinfectant; Aguata Correctional Centre will get 31 bags of rice, 77 cartons of noodles, and four cartons of disinfectant; and 20 bags of rice, 51 cartons of noodles, and three cartons of disinfectant were given to the headquarters in Awka.
Also, upon receiving their items from the Foundation at the State Police Command Headquarters in Amawbia on Saturday, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye, described the gesture as one of the biggest gifts ever made by a private sector operator to the police.
Adeoye said the items will be distributed equally among members of the Police Officers Wives Association in the state.
The CP lauded the foundation for the rare gesture and expressed the command’s appreciation for the foundation’s support, adding that the items would assist the police in cushioning the effects of the current economic hardship in the country.
Speaking during the handover of the items, Offor explained that the gesture was informed by the fact that security is essential to economic development, adding that the donation was part of his contribution to ease the police wives, especially the widows among them, of the current economic hardship confronting the country at the moment.
He noted that the gesture, which would be made annually, was also part of activities to mark his 65th birthday.
