Prison Outreach: Dame Okowa, O5 Initiative Donate Free Medications to Delta Correctional Centres

In keeping to its mission of caring for inmates at the Correctional Centres in the State, Wife of Delta Governor, Dame Edith Okowa and Founder, O5 Initiative, on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, donated free medications to the State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service.

Since inception of this administration, the O5 Initiative through its Prison Outreach, has consistently reached out to inmates in different dimensions.

Addressing the gathering of representatives of the Correctional Centres and top government functionaries in her office at Government House, Asaba, Dame Okowa said, “before 2020, we had made it a point of duty to reach out to the prisons in the state with medications at least twice a year in addition to other items.

“But with the advent of COVID-19 last year, we had to collapse the medical outreach to once a year and so we have gathered enough medications to last them for a while.

“But as much as this is a product of the O5 Initiative vision, we want this to continue even after this administration because the inmates will still be in need of medical care.

“Personally, I love continuity of good policies and legacies. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has done what he can do and in 2023, we would be gone.

“But we do not want this action to die and the only way to sustain it is to get the State Ministry of Health involved”.

She thus appealed to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Ejiro Ogheneaga who was present at the meeting, to reach out to his colleagues to ensure that the gesture is sustained and possibly improved.

“It is the least we can do, to make life easier for others. It is not about me, it is about Jesus and His love for us all”, she added.

The Wife of the Governor urged other well meaning individuals to make it a point of duty to reach out to those around them in love, especially in this season of celebration and feasting.

She charged the doctor in charge of the centres across the state, Dr. Elliott Ogunbor, to ensure that the drugs and medications are distributed according to the number of inmates in each centre.

In his response, the Controller of Corrections, Delta State Command, Dr. Ovie Esezobor while receiving the medical items, extended the good will of the Controller General, whom he said had gotten winds of the positive developments in the state.

“We are really grateful to Her Excellency for this kind gesture that she has sustained.

“Currently, all our clinics across the five correctional centres in the state are filled with drugs and that has greatly helped to avert the number of casualties.

“The drugs are useful for treating both the inmates and members of staff and currently, we are not lacking both medications and medical personnel”.

The beneficiaries of the medical outreach include the Correctional Centres in Agbor, Sapele, Kwale, Ogwashi-Uku and Warri.