The Delta government says 10,000 women have so far benefited from the state-funded widows’ welfare scheme.
The executive assistant to the governor on social investment programmes, Isioma Okonta, said this at a news briefing in Asaba on Saturday.
According to Mr Okonta, the scheme, championed by the present administration, has increasingly turned into a practical response to vulnerability rather than a symbolic gesture.
He said it had shown consistency in both funding and implementation.
The governor’s aide said that 10,000 people across the state had received their November stipends.
He said the scheme was providing steady financial support for women, who often shoulder the full burden of family responsibilities alone.
Mr Okonta said the monthly stipends were designed to stabilise the beneficiaries’ livelihoods, particularly amid rising living costs.
“The intervention acknowledges the economic shock widows frequently experience after the loss of their spouses and seeks to cushion its long-term effects,” the governor’s aide said.
He also said the programme incorporated free medical care at accredited hospitals, thus reducing healthcare expenses that often push vulnerable households deeper into poverty.
Mr Okonta said the dual approach had helped many widows regain a sense of security and dignity.
He said that rather than treat the scheme as a one-off relief effort, the Oborevwori administration embedded it within a broader social investment framework.
Mr Okonta described the governor as deliberate and responsive, saying that sustained attention to widows’ welfare had become “a defining feature” of his leadership style.
He said the scheme was now regarded as one of the state’s most effective social interventions and a benchmark for inclusive governance.
Mr Okonta said the continuation of the programme reflected the government’s broader commitment to ensuring that vulnerable citizens were not left behind in the state’s development agenda.
(NAN)
