The leading APC aspirant for the 2025 gubernatorial election in Anambra State, Sir Paul Chukwuma has condoled with families who lost their relatives in the tagedy that tainted the distribution of Christmas gifts in Okija, Anambra State at the weekend.
Expressing deep shock at the scope and nature of the stampede which claimed many lives, Sir Chukwuma observed that the incident had brought untold grief and sadness to Ndi Anambra in a season of love.
“Ndi Anambra, this tragedy has touched us all but it must not be allowed to break the Anambra spirit; our sense of community, our legendary philanthropy and our belief that wealth has no meaning until it brings relief and happiness to ordinary people,” Sir Chukwuma advised.
Observing that the people’s communal spirit had always risen to its peak when social conditions deteriorate, Sir Chukwuma urged Anambra’s wealthy indigenes not to be discouraged by the Okija inident but rather to task their imagination harder and come up with clever ways to reach out and touch their communities this Christmas.
Noting that the mystery of life was so complex that sometimes, a well-intended effort to heal and bring succour to people could lead to unexpected outcomes, Sir Chukwuma called for a collective introspection and prayers for the peaceful repose of the souls of the dead and a speedy healing for their loved ones.
“We are in mourning. I have directed my campaign council to suspend the planned physical distribution of Christmas gifts to various communities for now and to quickly come up with a strategy that will be of minimum discomfort to the intended beneficiaries,” Sir Chukwuma explained
Speaking further, he said, “my family and I shall continue to hold the grieving families up in our prayers and ask God to grant them a speedy healing from their irreparable losses.”
It would be recalled that an effort by a well-known and highly respected Anambra born philanthropist to distribute Christmas gifts to people in Okija town in Anambra State had resulted in a stampede that claimed many lives at the weekend.
