Igwe Christopher Okwor, the Traditional Ruler of Ihekwenu Authonomous Community in Aku, Igbo Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, has distributed palliative materials to over 500 indigent persons in his community.
In a speech at the venue in Aku, Okwor said the gesture was organised to jointly celebrate the Christmas and his wife’s birthday.
He said that his family was thanking God that his wife, Martina, “added a year to her years on earth”.
According to him, the distribution of palliative materials had been an annual event in his palace for many years running.
The royal father said that he could not he happy enjoying the Christmas celebration without putting smiles on the faces of indigents in his community.
He said that no fewer than 300 people benefitted from the exercise last year.
He also said that he decided to increase the number this year to over 500 because God increased his pocket.
Okwor said, “I’m very friendly with people and that is why thousands of my friends and well wishers came to be with me though not everybody will like me because Jesus himself was not loved by all.”
Also, his wife thanked God for the “abundant mercy, sound health and blessings” upon her entire family.
In a sermon during the thanksgiving service held at St. Greg the Great, Aku, the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Hillary Ogba, described the traditional ruler as a friendly and God-fearing man, who had used his wealth to immensely support the church and mankind.
“That is why he commands highest respect in this community,” Ogba said.
The former Vice Chancellor of Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Prof. Syprian Onyeji, lauded the royal father’s philanthropy.
Onyeji described him as “the most compassionate person” he had ever come across in life.
“The Igwe prefers to go through pain than to see tears in the eye of any member of his community,” he said.
Onyeji pointed out that despite the current economic situation in the country, the traditional ruler continued to sustain the annual ritual of giving out help to the under-privileged.
The President General of the community, Mr Daniel Ugwu, said he was overwhelmed by the number of persons that came for the palliatives.
“The number of the beneficiaries will go down in history not only because he has been giving out palliatives consistently for three to four years but he keeps increasing the number of beneficiaries,” he said.
Ugwu said that some persons in the community that maligned the royal father before former Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi “had asked for forgiveness, which Igwe had accepted long ago”.
He described Okwor as the chief servant of his people, adding that he had continued to carry everybody along.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that the beneficiaries were given cash, which ranged from N20,000 to N100,000 each.
Two beneficiaries, Mrs Chinenye Nwasu and Mrs Nnenna Ezikeanyi, commended the Igwe for always remembering the less privileged in his community.
In separate interviews with NAN, they described Okwor as a God-fearing man, who would always go the extra mile to support the poor.
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