NYSC HONOURS CHIEF ERIC UMEOFIA FOR SUPPORTING ACCIDENT VICTIM
In recognition and appreciation of the unprecedented kindness and generosity of Chief Eric Umeofia, President and CEO of Erisco Foods Limited, towards Margaret Uhunamure , a recently discharged corp member who was involved in a ghastly motor accident that led to the partial amputation of her arm, the leadership of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Wednesday, August 26, 2015 formally presented with a letter of commendation/appreciation and appointed as an honourable board member of the NYSC Hope Alive Programme
A representative of the Director-General, Mr. Aremu Kehinde who flew in from Abuja to make the presentation at the head office of Erisco Foods Limited, said the management of NYSC have been following everything Chief Umeofia has been doing for Margaret and that the corps is most sincerely grateful to him.
According to Aremu: “We all have been following the trends, the happenings with our dear corps member, Margaret and the DG has asked that I come meet you personally and thank you most sincerely and to deliver this letter of appreciation. Thank you very much, you have touched lives”, he said.
Apart receiving a letter of appreciation, Chief Umeofia was also honoured with a letter of appointment as a board member of NYSC Hope Alive Programme. According to Mr. Aremu, the programme is made up of prominent Nigerians like Chief Tony Elumelu and that Chief Umeofia has been found worthy of being a part of the programme.
Explaining what the Hope Alive Programme is about, Mr Aremu said,
“By the arrangement of NYSC, we have an insurance package but it ceases to be applicable when a corps member passes out. Unfortunately, Margaret had passed out at the time that accident happened even though we still tried to cover the much that NYSC could do”.
“However, because of that gap, management sat down and decided to float a foundation whereby any corps member that has a serious accident or disability in the course of serving the nation can be taken care of in terms of counselling, linking them up with employers of labour and also providing succor generally so that they don’t feel abandoned by the nation. The organization has a governing board which comprises prominent Nigerians. This idea was sold to former President Goodluck Jonathan and he launched it.”
The NYSC Hope Alive programme according to Mr Aremu, is not funded by the Federal Government by the law establishing NYSC. Mr Aremu also said he has made a proposal to the DG of NYSC to make provision for Ric-Giko Tomato Paste to be the sole Tomato paste that will be used in all NYSC camps and that work was under way to ensure that this will happen as soon as possible.
In response, Chief Eric Umeofia welcomed him and thanked the DG of NYSC for recognizing him and what he has been doing. He also used the opportunity to call on Nigerians to encourage indigenous manufacturers by patronizing made in Nigeria products in order to make the economy better for all Nigerians.
In his statement, he said “I welcome you and I appreciate your DG’s concern and recognition of what we have done. I am happy to be a board member of the NYSC Hope Alive Programme and I will try my best to make sure everything works out well. We are determined to help the nation through manufacturing our own products. We are Nigerians and so we make money to help our fellow Nigerians and not outsiders.”
“Actually, our desire is to be among Nigerians controlling our economy because currently, our economy is not been controlled by Nigerians that is why people pass out of NYSC without getting jobs. In my factory, you will find Nigerian graduates applying to work as casual workers which is not right. We have abundant jobs in Nigeria but they are occupied by illegal foreigners. They come here to destroy our economy by producing things which are not allowed in their country.”
Chief Umeofia continued…“That is why we are encouraging Nigerians to buy made in Nigeria goods. Our desire is to create more jobs and I want to assure you that we are working things out to make sure that we work with NYSC to eliminate Poverty and unemployment in the country. We want a situation whereby when our youths pass out of NYSC, they can be sure to get a job in Nigeria almost immediately.”
He urged Mr. Aremu to communicate with the DG to ensure that the management and members of NYSC use Made in Nigeria Products. According to him, the more Nigerians patronize foreign goods, the worse the economy will become but when we patronize made in Nigeria products, the economy will continue to grow and Indigenous manufacturers will be able to do more to support organisations like the NYSC Hope Alive Programme.
It would be recalled that BrandPower reported earlier in the week that Chief Eric Umeofia presented an employment letter to Margaret Uhunamure, a recently discharged NYSC member who lost her arm in an accident on her To Lagos from Benue State to present her NYSC certificate to her mother who had been very proud to have the first University Graduate in her family.
Chief Eric Umeofia, who heard Margaret’s touching story, swung into action immediately and opted to assist in the payment of her bills and pay for her prosthetic arm (artificial arm). The offer of an automatic employment to Margaret in Erisco Foods Limited was the icing on the cake. Margaret was asked to resume work anytime the Doctors certify her fit to work and that she will start receiving her salary from September first, regardless of whether she has resumed work or not. Not done, Chief Eric Umeofia then went ahead to pay 50% of Margaret’s salary the same day she was offered the employment letter.
By Janice Johnson
