By TYAV SAM TYAV, Makurdi –
The Benue State Primary Health Development Agency in collaboration with Chigari Foundation have given awards to Frontline traditional rulers for their supportive roles in the fight against polio in the state.
Performing the ceremony in Makurdi on Friday, the Senior Advocacy Consultant, Chigari Foundation, Mr. Jethro Masev appreciated the traditional rulers for their roles in mobilizing their people to participate the vaccination exercises.
Mr. Masev informed that the usual role of Chigari Foundation is to chair community engagement and to coordinate stakeholders to support immunization.
Explaining further, the Chigari Foundation Consultant revealed that the culture of Chigari was to reward those that deserve it particularly the hardworking people to encourage them to put in more efforts.
Masev insisted that rewarding the frontline traditional rulers would serve as eye opener to the outside world and appreciated the significant roles played by the frontline traditional rulers by mobilizing their people to participate in the various immunization exercises.
He explained that the Chigari Foundation awards do not attract monetary benefits as according to him the awards usually means to encourage others and motivate other actors to perform maximally.
The various partners that spoke including Michael Luka, Innocent Adega, and Solomon Alechenu among others appreciated the monarchs for their active roles in the mobilization of their subjects to actively participate in the exercises aimed at rolling out polio and other diseases.
In his remarks, Chief Simon Ugondo Tov, who appreciated the Chigari Foundation for rewarding hard work acknowledged the powerful role of the traditional rulers in enlightening and mobilizing their subjects to participate vaccination exercises and pledged that the traditional rulers would continue to do their best and appealed to the organizers to also sustain it for the benefit of the society.
Those that got the Chigari Foundation awards from various local government areas includes, Chief Terwase Shaor, Buruku, Chief Moses Ahungwa, Makurdi, Chief Koriyol Abaagu, Gwer west, Chief Akpera Donald, Logo and Chief Aondoaseer Gwanbe, Vandeikya.
Others were Chief Innocent Oche, Ado, Chief Paul Adunu, Agatu, Chief Peter Abounu, Otukpo and Chief Gabriel Okoh, Oju.
