By Joseph Edegbo
Kaduna (Nigeria) – Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said that all monies generated at the charity football match organised by his friends on Sunday to mark his 50th birthday will be donated fully to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria.
Dogara also expressed profound gratitude to his friends and associates that honoured him at the event saying that he hoped to use the years God grants him on earth to invest in people to raise them to their God-given destinies.
He said, “Everything that will be realised on the course of the birthday will be donated to charity. All, including the proceeds of the book, what we have done here, all commitments, 100% will be donated to charity, particularly to the plight of the I.D.Ps in the North-East Region where I come from.
“As I clock 50, what is uppermost to me really is not longevity, I want to see how well I have invested the 50 years that God has given me. You know, when you are alive, you can choose to invest in yourself, or in others. I think honour is when you serve others, that is why I want to commit all we generate in the course of this celebration to address the plight of these wonderful people who are trapped by a crisis they did not originate, they don’t know how it began, most of them are just unfortunate victims of this crisis. There is nothing we can do that can either be too little or too big if it is being invested in order to raise people from the ashes to be able to fulfill their God-given destinies.”
Earlier, chairman of the event, President of Dangote group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, commended the Speaker for choosing to celebrate his 50th birthday by raising funds to better the lives of IDPs and called for generous donations towards the cause.
In his remarks, Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki, noted that there has been progress in rebuilding the North-East region and expressed hope that they will, sooner, rather than later, return to their normal lives.
Speaking on behalf of the IDPs, Miss Amina Gwoza, expressed gratitude to the Speaker for the NEDC Act and his concern for matters concerning them, saying they hope to see its impact very soon in the progress and development of the North-East.
