The executive director, Corporate Services of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Hon Ifedayo Abegunde, has appealed to organisations and the elite to support underprivileged citizens, especially the elderly.
Abegunde said this when NDDC top officials, including the executive director of Finance and Administration, Alabo Boma Iyaye and other directors of the commission, visited the Home for the Elderly run by the Catholic Church in Port Harcourt.
The visit, which was part of the activities marking Abegunde’s 70th birthday, witnessed the donation of various food items to the home to support the vulnerable and improve the lives of elderly citizens.
Abegunde thanked God for allowing him to serve humanity as the executive director of Corporate Services at the NDDC and prayed for blessings for the elderly people in the society.
He encouraged privileged individuals and corporate organisations to always give a helping hand to those in need.
In his remarks, the executive director of Finance and Administration of the NDDC, Alabo Boma Iyaye, underlined the need for organisations to support the church in caring for the elderly, saying, “We must create schemes to help the weak and fend for the poor.”
Iyaye commended the executive director for his outstanding contributions to public service, community development and the advancement of good governance.
He described him as a humanist whose dedication and compassion have positively impacted countless lives across the Niger Delta.
The NDDC team presented the Home of the Elderly with several bags of rice, beans, tubers of yam, cartons of noodles, toiletries and an unspecified amount of money.
Receiving the items, the home’s patron, Rev Sister Mary-Jane Raphael, thanked the NDDC team for the gesture, saying it would significantly address some of their challenges in feeding the elderly people in the facility.
Earlier in a thanksgiving service, the representative of Rivers State on the NDDC Board, Chief Tony Okocha, said Hon Abegunde’s life “has been a testament to resilience, purposeful leadership, and unwavering commitment to societal growth.”
Okocha highlighted Abegunde’s legacy of philanthropy, emphasising his tireless efforts to uplift the less privileged through various initiatives.
