Seven inmates in Port Harcourt Prisons can now walk away free, their fines having been paid by Aisha Buari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The President’s wife also donated food items to be distributed to the less privileged, widows and people living with disability in Rivers State.
Buhari, who was represented by the acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ibim Semenitari, handed over 1,200 bags of rice, 1,000 gallons of vegetable oil, 600 cartons of tomato paste, 160 cartons of noodles and 1,000 cartons of custard, to officials of the All Progressive Congress (APC), in Port Harcourt.
According to Semenitari, the kind gesture from the president’s wife also extended to those in the prisons as seven indigent inmates were released after their fines were paid by Buhari.
She said:” This initiative is starting from Port Harcourt prison because that is the most congested prison in Africa, so she thought it is better to start here. And that of course goes to show the commitment of Mr. President to ensuring that everybody in Nigeria feels a touch of the Presidency. He doesn’t look at tribe, ethnicity or religion.”
Semenitari was joined by Mustapha Habib, a member of the APC Board of Trustees and other officials from the Presidency to hand over the Ramadan gifts as well as visit the prison.
The NDDC boss commended Buhari for promoting the spirit of sharing in the country and providing succour to people in difficulty. “This particular gesture is a display of the special affection of the president’s wife for the down-trodden,” she said.
Receiving the food items, the Rivers State APC Chairman, Davis Ikanya, thanked Buhari’s wife for showing love and kindness to vulnerable people across the country. He said that even though food was important, the people of Rivers State needed to be alive to eat the food.
The party chairman said: “We are having serious security issues in Rivers. Our people are being killed on a continuous basis. The President should help us to ensure that life is secured in this state. It will not be good if people are waiting to kill us after eating Mrs. Buhari’s food.”
Earlier at the Port Harcourt Prisons where seven inmates who could not pay their fines were released, the Deputy Comptroller of Prisons, Azuka Ndupu, expressed gratitude to the wife of the President for coming to their rescue. He said that the inmates were very happy as some of them had been waiting for 10 years.
He called attention to the needs of the prison and its inmates, particularly with respect to healthcare. He appealed for medical supplies and improved electricity for the facility.
