A former Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has said that it is the responsibility of the wealthy to cater for other vulnerable citizens and such gesture should not be politicised.
Okorocha representing Imo West Senatorial District in the Senate, said this weekend, during the commissioning of a Skill Acquisition Centre and graduation of 45 youths trained in information and communication technology (ICT), tailoring and other vocational skills, at Karmajiji, along Airport Road, Abuja.
He said the gestures, were aimed at empowering the poor and the needy, mostly in rural areas and that over 22,000 Nigerians, especially youths, have benefited from the charity work he is undertaking through his, The Rocha’s Foundation in the past 25 years, not only through skill acquisition and trainings, but also in formal education.
He said that the event and other he has been involved in had anything to do with the 2023 Presidential election, and that the Foundation has been existing for over 20 years.
“It has nothing to do with politics. Rochas Foundation has been in existence before any presidential aspiration or whatever. We have been here for more than 25 years and we have raised about 22,000 children.
“So, it has nothing to do with politics. If politics is about helping the poor then let everybody play it: it will help us. It’s nothing about 2023. These people here might likely not vote.”
“This (Rochas Care) is an arm of the Rochas Foundation. It is a reach out and touch programme to rural areas, to uplift the lives of the poor people such as the Karmajiji youths you are seeing here which you see here.
“We are commissioning the skill acquisition center built in their honour for skills like computer, tailoring among others. We have realised that majority of our people live in the rural areas. And somehow, we are not unaware that we have lots of people suffering in rural areas. So, Rochas Okorocha foundation is reaching out and touching the lives of poor people,” Okorocha said.
He said that the Rochas Care Skill Acquisition Centre was also named as Dozie Centre, in honour of a young man who, died recently and who before his death, was passionate about the work of the foundation.
According to him, the collection of the aged, physically-challenged, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and vulnerable children, was a demonstration of the passion the foundation has for the less-privileged in society.
Speaking earlier, the Director of the Rochas Care, Amen Okorocha, stressed the need for the to do more for the vulnerable in the society.
“We must remember our brothers and sisters. COVID-19 came as a shock to all of us. It affected the richest, the poorest. And most importantly, we must remember the lives of the poor. Today is a special day for us to reconnect with our brothers and sisters. We at the Rochas Foundation are committed to ensuring that every single child has access to education.
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