A House of Assembly aspirant in Afikpo, Ebonyi state, Mr Iheukwumere Okogwu Otu, has handed over a three-bedroom flat he built for a homeless man in Ezi Agbii, Ukpa, in Afikpo North local government area of Ebonyi state.
Iheukwumere, who is the Special Adviser (SA) to Hon. Maria Ude Nwachi, member representing Afikpo North East Constituency in the Ebonyi State House of Assembly (EBHA), made the donation Tuesday during his birthday celebration.
In an exclusive chat with Blueprint, Iheukwumere said that the kind gesture was borne out of the fact that the milk of kindness flowing in his veins could not allow him to bear the sight of the beneficiary, Mr Chukwu Oko (a.k.a Jaguar) being homeless.
Iheukwumere said that, despite having limited resources, he dedicated his salary as SA to start the project in 2014, due to the fact that the beneficiary had been sleeping outside with his six children since 2007.
He said that, though he was contesting to represent Afikpo North East Constituency in EBHA, under Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), the gesture does not have any political undertone, but was just a token of appreciation for God’s blessings and protection since he was born.
He said: “Mr Chukwu Oko has been through a lot in life, especially after losing his father at a tender age. In fact, because of the poor background of his family, he started fending for himself at the tender age of 14 and was even a professional driver in Lagos for over 20 years, but had nothing to show for it until he returned to Afikpo.
“His house collapsed in 2007 and he was almost sleeping outside with his 6 kids for about 8 years. I was passing there one day and saw the condition of where my fellow human being was living and instantly challenged myself to reconstruct the building. I took up this challenge in 2014 and I thank God that it is a success story today. So, I gave it out yesterday on my birthday, as a token of appreciation for God’s blessings and protection.”
