21 May 2019
The Forum of Special Assistants to Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River have donated food items worth thousands of naira to the Infant Jesus Orphanage home and nursing mothers at the General Hospital in Calabar.
The food stuff donated included bags of rice, beans, beverages, noodles, toiletries and other consumables.
Speaking at the Orphanage Home, Mr Charles Ushie, Chairman of the Forum, said that the items were donated to the children with a view to improve their nutritional value and to say thank you to all Crossriverians for re-electing Ayade.
Ushie said that the humanitarian outreach was also carried out as a way to say `thank you’ to the governor for appointing them to serve in his first term administration, ading that the forum is popularly known as `Ayade's soldiers'.
“We want to express gratitude to God and to the governor for giving us the opportunity to serve in the first term of his administration.
“We cannot go back to the governor to say thank you, but we need to reach out to the people that elected him to say thank you.
“As a forum of Special Assistants, we want to sincerely thank the governor for appointing us to serve in his first term.
“We decided to visit this home because we want to encourage the children that they are not forgotten and abandoned; we are here to show them love and care,” he said.
Responding, one of the Rev. Sister incharge of the home, Udo Kristy, who received the items on behalf of the children, thanked the Special Assistant Forum for their show of love and support to the home.
At the General Hospital Calabar, members of the forum also went round the post natal ward and the emergency unit to donate cash to the nursing mothers and accident victims.
At the post natal ward, over 15 nursing mothers received an undisclosed amount of money from the forum, while 6 patients at the accident unit also got same gesture.
Secretary of the forum, Mrs Josephine Oja Ochalla, said the donation was carried out in magnanimity of the governors many achievements in office.
According to her, the Forum of Special Assistant were toeing the footsteps of Ayade by giving to the needy and poor in the society.
Speaking on behalf of the management of the hospital, Mrs Philomena Atambi, a Senior Nurse in the hospital, thanked the forum for coming to the aid of some of the patients in the hospital.
Atambi thanked them for their concern for the sick persons and nursing mothers, thereby commending Ayade for appointing numerous young Crossriverians to serve in his government.
