A widow, Mrs. Ijeoma Obot Okon has called on the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, his wife Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Dr Glory Edet, and other public spirited persons and organizations to come to her aid as the 4-bedroom bungalow belonging to the family was struck down recently.
The wife of late Mr. Obot Okon William of Ikot Mbong, ONNA Local Government Area was on Wednesday, the first day of November rendered homeless as their home located at Mission Road, Afaha Atai, Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area was damaged when a palm tree from a neighbour’s farmland fell on the bungalow damaging a very large portion of it.
The damage occurred by 1;30am when the widow of Obot Okon William and her five children were fast asleep.
According to the widowed Mrs. Ijeoma Obot Okon whose husband was buried three years ago, “the rain started to fall between 12 and 12;30am and an hour later we heard a sound like thunder and all of a sudden it was as if our house started to collapse because of the impact of the thing that fell on the house.”
“We were afraid to come out and it was only when we heard the voices of neighbours shouting ‘mama confidence, mama confidence’ that my children and I summoned a little courage to come out.”
“We were shocked at the level of damage to the house and my children and I just started to cry.
We cried because we used all our savings to build the house and before now my husband who was the Chief Security Officer to Mrs. Owoidogho Ekpoattai when she was the Local Government Executive Chairman had been sick for about two years before he died.”
Mrs Obot Okon who is a petty trader in Afaha Etok village called on all who may wish to assist her and her children to come to their aid.
Upon request she gave her GSM number as 07031142628 for easy and direct contact.
Her close neighbours, Mrs Martha Ikpong, Mr Eyo and others were seen sympathizing with her and her children who could not go to school.
the Village Head of Afaha Etok, Eteidung Hillary Essien JP, while reacting on the incident called on the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State Deacon Udom Gabriel Emmanuel and his dear wife Mrs Martha Udom Emmanuel to come to the aid of Mrs Ijeoma Okon Obot who is from Ikot Mbong in ONNA Local Government Area. He said that the woman and her children have been living in the village for about three years now and that they are good natured and peaceful.
According to the village head “There is a limit to what we can do for the homeless family, even the owner of the land where the decayed palm tree was stationed does not stay in the state and it is difficult to get him, that is why we use this medium to call on the amiable governor and his dear wife to assist the widow and the five children in any way they can.
Other persons and organization can also assist because the woman and her children are terribly affected.”
Eteidung Hillary Essien also appealed to the state government to regularly cause the evacuation of sand and debris from the outfall drains since water sometimes overflows into farmlands when the down pour is much
