WHY I REJECTED PDP'S N250,000.00 - "GO AND DIE" WIDOW

RECONCILED

The widow who was recently rebuked by Governor Adams Oshiomhole for blocking the road with her goods, Mrs Joy Ifijeh, says she snubbed the offer of N250,000 by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because she was satisfied with the apology and offer of a job and N2 million by the governor.

Mrs Ifijeh said she is not ready to be used as a pawn by the PDP on the chessboard of politics, advising the party to give the money to another widow instead. She spoke yesterday during the presentation of her letter of appointment  into the Edo State War Against Indiscipline to her by Special Adviser to Governor Oshiomhole on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Kassim Afegbua, at the Government House in Benin City.

“I want to thank Oshiomhole sincerely for this appointment and I wish to state that I have forgiven him from the bottom of my heart. And for the money promised me by the PDP, let them give it to other widows. I do not need the money”, she said.

She described the governor’s gesture as humane and promised to support the government’s policies and programmes. Earlier, while presenting the appointment letter, Mr Kassim Afegbua said the appointment was in fulfilment of Oshiomhole’s promise to offer the widow an employment.

He said the appointment is effective from December 3, 2013.  It would be recalled that the state chapter of the PDP Tuesday launched an empowerment fund to cater for widows in the state in response to an alleged maltreatment of Joy Ifijieh by Governor Adams Oshiomhole.  Launching the programme, state chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, said since the party posted the video clip of the governor’s encounter with the woman on Facebook and YouTube, public response was unprecedented, adding that N1 million was received by the party as a donation in support of Widows Empowerment Programme.  Chief Orbih described the state government offer of job and the sum of N2 million to Mrs Ifijieh after the video clip was made public, as a ‘Greek gift’.  He said the PDP’s effort in exposing what Governor Oshiomhole did to Mrs Ifijieh had started yielding results.

 He condemned what he described as “pretentious actions of Governor Oshiomhole” during the presentation of the N2 million to the widow, saying the amount would remove the tears of widows in the state after the humiliation.  Chief Orbih, said the PDP was tired of a process whereby the governor would commit sins and waste state resources to pay for them.