No fewer than 2,500 elderly persons across Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore, and Ejigbo Federal Constituency have benefitted from a welfare and medical outreach organised by the member representing the constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Bamidele Salam.
The programme, held at Awo on Tuesday, coincided with Salam’s birthday and the United Nations’ International Day of Elderly Persons, marked annually on October 1.
Explaining the purpose of the initiative, Salam said it was his way of identifying with senior citizens and providing them with much-needed care.
Salam siad, “If you’ve been following us, we’ve been doing this every year. It’s not new, Yes, it’s my birthday, but it’s also designated as the International Day of Elderly Persons. For a couple of years now, we’ve been decentralizing the programme, but this year we decided to centralize it so that everybody can come together and I can physically attend.”
He noted that the focus was on the health and welfare of elderly citizens, many of whom suffer deteriorating conditions.
“One of the challenges of aging is deteriorating health, both physical and mental, including eyesight, that’s why we’ve gathered medical experts to give them medical check-ups and minimal interventions”, he explained.
Speaking on the Nigeria’s 65th Independence, Salam harped on hope and unity across the Nation and the State.
“My message to every Nigerian is that we should keep hope alive. We should be more dedicated to the progress of our country. We should see ourselves as brothers and sisters, regardless of tribe, religion, or social status. We should live together in harmony, support one another, and build our country,” he stated.
The lawmaker urged residents to continue supporting Governor Ademola Adeleke, describing him as a visionary leader.
“I want to encourage our people to continue their support for the governor, Ademola Adeleke, the man who has given very quality leadership to the people. Let’s continue to pray for him, support him, and play our part as citizens for the success of our state,” Salam added.
Senior legislative aide to the lawmaker, Akintayo Jimoh, said the beneficiaries were senior citizens aged 65 and above, drawn from across the four local governments.
He explained that they received medical services, including general check-ups, eye examinations, and prescription glasses, alongside welfare packages such as packs of food items and stipends for transportation.
Beneficiaries who spoke with our correspondent expressed their profound gratitude to the lawmaker for being intentional towards making their health a priority and overall wellbeing his priority at his birthday.
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