Dame Edith Okowa, wife of the Delta State Governor, has denied receiving a N3.5 billion (US $10 million) donation in support of her efforts to ameliorate the suffering of persons living with sickle cell anaemia and to promote children welfare through her organisation, The 05 Initiative.
The wife of the governor made the clarification while briefing journalists on activities of The 05 Initiative in her office at the Government House in Asaba, the state capital, yesterday.
In apparent reaction to international media reports that her non-governmental organisation has been offered a grant of N3.5billion in appreciation of its programme and projects, particularly in the area of sickle cell management in Nigeria, Okowa stated that she had not received any such donation nor even signed an agreement on such financial commitment.
Nonetheless, she acknowledged the promise by a United States of America-based and United Nations-recognised NGO to assist in the digitisation of sickle cell clinics in Delta State.
Mrs. Okowa said: “A major outcome of our UN presentation is the expressed desire of The Initiative for Global Development to partner The 05 Initiative. Their interest is centred on digitising our sickle cell clinics across the state. This will generate critical data that will aid the management of sickle cell patients.
“I would like to state categorically that no memorandum of understanding has been signed and no financial commitment has been made.”
The wife of the state governor, however, expressed gratitude to various individuals and corporate bodies for their financial, material and moral supports especially for the sustenance of her pet project, The 05 Initiative.