The Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, The Sun Newspapers, Mr. Onuoha Ukeh has charged the people of Amokwe Item, Bende Local Government Area, Abia State not to see the Ochonma 11 Age grade Road Awareness Walk as a mere exercise, but one aimed at ensuring positive healthy living.
Speaking during the 2020 Annual Road Awareness Walk of the age grade, Mr. Ukeh said that the exercise was coming at an auspicious time when much emphasize are been focus on keeping fit and cutting down on foods with harmful health effect.
He urged the people to imbibe the culture of exercising regularly and not wait for another round of road walk of the age grade in December 2021 before they could exercise and commended the initiative of the age grade in organizing the walk.
In his own speech, a Professor of Pharmacology, University of Benin, Prof. Ogbonnaya Stephen Okpo said that the import of the health benefits of the walk cannot be over emphasized and commended the thoughtlessness of the organizers of the walk in coming up with the programme which he stated has woken up lots of people on the need to exercise.
Prof. Okpo stressed the need for people to exercise regular as such was capable of addressing certain health challenges people faced and urged the organizers in organising the event which attracted more participants outsid outside the Amaokwe Item.
In his own speech, the Editor of National Ambassador Newspaper, Bro. Kingsley Ugorji said that from the interest the exercise has exerted and generated due to its high level state of organization, the progamme has become one of the interesting yuletide calendar events in Amaokwe Item as people now look forward to participating in the road walk even those who hardly exercise all through the year.
Bro. Ugorji called on the organizers of the need to expand the scope of the road walk as a programme of such nature was capable of becoming a carnival of sort that would attract people not only outside Item, Bende but Abia state as a whole.
He challenged the organizers to come up with proper template that can make the road walk attract major sponsors and place Ochonma 11 Age grade road walk in international limelight as many sons and daughters of Amaokwe, nay Item abroad would be looking forward to either participate or follow the proceedings of the walk.
Responding on behalf of the organizing and planning committee, its chairman, Mr Chinenye Uko thanked the age grade members, their sponsors and other participants for making the event a huge success and assured that the road walk has come to stay as part of the yuletide calendar events of not only of the age grade but the Amokwe Item as a whole.
He promised that his committee would continue to fine tune every logistic and any other strategy required for continued success of the Road walk and announced that in 2021 edition, they hoped to secure a corporate image for the event by securing a major corporate sponsor and promotion of corporate brand.
The high point of the event was the honouring of Dr Davey Osoka with the Diamond sponsor award, Mr Onuoha Uke and Dr Onyechelerem Ogelle with gold sponsors award, Prof Ogbonnaya Okpo, Prof Enyidiya Ogali, acting Vice-Chanellor, Uniport, Prince Harrison Eze Okorie, Mr Kesanso Uko of the Central Bank, Chief Okoji Nmaju, President General, AIWU and Mrs Ogbonne Precious Emeka with silver sposors award respective.
