CBN commissions N45m orphanage homes in FCT

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through its Staff Alms Fund, Monday, commissioned an orphanage home and one block hostel in two area councils of Abuja at the cost of N45.3m.

The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, speaking at the official commissioning of Al-Ansar Orphanage Home in Kuje Area Council of Abuja, said the Alms Fund by the CBN staff was established to collectively address the nagging issues of street begging and the destitute in major cities of Lagos and Abuja.

The number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Nigeria is huge. And it was reported to have hit a up high of 17.5 million while the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) puts Nigeria’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at 981,416 in the early months of 2015.

Represented by Sani Doguwa, the apex bank’s director of statistics at the event, Emefiele said the Alm Fund was established in 2003 by the management staff of the CBN, noting that the apex bank, as a body, committed no fund to the projects.

The Al-Ansar Orphanage constructed by the staff, through their personal and individual donations to the CBN Staff Alms Fund, was awarded in January 5, 2009 to Innaworo Nigeria Limited at the contract sum of N24,996,931.26 million.

The governor said the project suffered a set back due to a number of issues ranging from site and re-awarding of the project to another contractor, Kayims International Limited.

The second project, which was the building of a male hostel at the St. Mary’s Orphanage Home in Gwagwalada Area Council cost the CBN Alm Fund N20,398,399.87 million.

The representative of the CBN governor also stated that five projects had been concluded under the CBN Staff Alms Fund since its inception.

“They are a clinic for Yangoji Koroko Leprosarium, Kwali, Abuja, aClinic at the Rehabilitation Home, Owutu, Lagos, Boys Hostel for the St. Mary’s Orphanage Gwagwalada, Abuja, a Multi-purpose Hall for the Spinal Cords Injuries Association of Nigeria (SCIAN) in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, and the Al-Ansar Orphanage Home Kuje, Abuja,” he said.

The wife of the President, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari who was represented by the wife of the Former Chief of Army Staff, Mariam Saliu commended the CBN Staff for the innovation just as she urged other corporate bodies to emulate the gesture so as bring succour to destitute and orphans in the country.

Buhari, who described the project as timely for the assistance of the increasing numbers of IDPS in the FCT also called for the building of ophans and widows capacity in skill acquisition for them to be productive.

Al-Ansar Orphanage has so far registered about a hundred and forty (140) widows and two hundred and forty (240) ophans were registered at the centre.

KEHINDE ABDULSALAM