As was submitted by Chief Hon. Dr. Isioma Okonta at the Dome Invent Centre in Asaba, Monday, the 18th day of August, 2025 marked a significant mile stone in the lives of widows in Delta state. It was a date chosen by the Governor of Delta state, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori to flag off the enrolment of 10,000 widows into the state’s widows’ welfare scheme.
According to the governor, the scheme covers, not only widows that are citizens of the state, but also non-indigenes among women who lost their bread winners at one point or the other. Giving details of what the scheme entails, Oborevwori stated that the beneficiaries of the program will henceforth earn a stipend of N15,000 per month in addition to being enrolled into the state’s health insurance scheme wherein they will be granted access into free health care delivery covered by government’s fully paid premium.
Explaining further, the governor assured the widows that the program was not only commencing immediately, but that it was also coming with payment of arrears of three months. The atmosphere became eccentric when the ladies started receiving bank credit alerts of their payments right there in the hall. With some weeping and others laughing and dancing, the place was enveloped with what can best be described as the eruption of volcanic joy. Shouts of “Sheriff is the best”, “alert don come o” and “God bless Sheriff” rented the air.
It was indeed, a day of alerts of joy for 10,000 widows in Delta state. When this is juxtaposed with a recent directive from the state governor for the off-setting of all pending arrears owed retirees from the Delta state’s civil service, one cannot, but get a clearer picture of what the number one citizen of the state is doing in the social security sub-component of the MORE agenda.
All around the world, social security has become a major component of the indices used in recognizing good governance, especially in countries such as USA, China and Canada. This underscored the United States of America’s budgetary allocation of $1.5 trillion on Social Security in the fiscal year 2024, representing 22.4% of the total federal budget. On her part, China recently announced that it will start offering nationwide cash handouts to families as an incentive for couples who are skeptical about their abilities to cater for more children, considering the current tariff restrictions placed on it by America. The country spent about $795 billion during the first half of 2025 on social investments.
The stringent measures put in place so far to ensure that impostors are not enrolled into the state’s welfare scheme is commendable and should be sustained with enabling state laws.
Beyond the cash transfers to widows in Delta state and government’s provision of a whopping sum of N10 billion for settling outstanding payments due to the senior citizens of the state, time has come for the establishment of social Investment Trust Funds by states and the government at the centre. This will certainly assist the governments in cushioning the effects of the present economic realities that tell more on the aged, widows, very low income earners and the economically vulnerable in the society.
Apart from these, those who have managed social investments in Nigeria in the past and found wanting must be brought to book as a measure that will act as deterrent to unscrupulous public officers that may want to follow that criminal path.
In all of this, public officers with heart of meekness towards the needy like Dr. Isioma Okonta as was presented by Pastor Powell, the master of ceremony on the day of widows’ enrolment flag off are rare to find. It therefore behooves the Delta state government to continue to support him in forms like training of subordinates who are qualified to take up the mantle of leadership seamlessly from where he may drop off into higher responsibilities in the near future.
