A House of Representatives member from Akwa Ibom State, Clement Jimbo, has said that henceforth, he would no longer give out money to his constituents who seek financial help to organise burial ceremonies.
Mr Jimbo who represents Abak/Etim Ekpo/ Ika Federal Constituency announced this in a post on his Facebook page on Monday.
“All financial solicitation for burial is hereby suspended till further notice. Please bear with me,” the lawmaker wrote.
When contacted on Saturday, Mr Jimbo told PREMIUM TIMES that he took the decision because he did not want to be “distracted by the thousands of financial solicitations for burial purposes” from his constituents.
“It is unhealthy and it should be discouraged at every level,” he said of the financial solicitations. The lawmaker suggested that people ought not to spend a lot of money to organise burial ceremonies for their loved ones, citing the case of Jesus Christ, whom he said died and was buried “without his disciples asking for financial support”.
He said resources, instead of being “wasted” on burials, should be channelled into developmental projects.
Akwa Ibom State has the highest number of people in south-south Nigeria living in multidimensional poverty, according to the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Report of the National Bureau of Statistics. But residents of the state, like other states in Southern Nigeria, often desire to organise flamboyant burial ceremonies for departed relatives or friends.
Credit: premiumtimesng.com
