A member of the Delta State Advisory and Peace Building Council, Revd Prof Oke AKokotu, has called on government at all levels to always consider wives, particularly widows of deceased pastors in the country in their empowerment programme for Widows and less privileged individuals.
AKokotu, who is the immediate past Executive Secretary of Delta State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, told our correspondent that the widows of the deceased pastors in most cases suffer, adding that such category of persons had never been accommodated nor captured in the various government empowerment programmes both at the Federal, state or Local Government levels.
The development, according to him, might have arisen from the misconception that the category of persons in the society were relatively comfortable and, thus do not require assistance, stressing that such misconception had, over the years resulted in the unwholesome neglect and marginalisation of persons in that category.
He, therefore, called on public-spirited individuals in the society to always consider that category of persons in their various private empowerment programmes.
He said, ” I am saying this as a pastor and Government official. I have been privileged to have some personal encounters with some of the widows of deceased men of God and I can tell you that majority of them are really suffering. Unlike other widows, these categories of persons may not be favourably dosposed to be running around government officials and others for Palliative. This is because considering their positions as wives of pastors, they may have some reservations. So, I call on government at all levels to as a matter of urgency, include the categories of persons in their various empowerment programmes.”