By Joseph Treasure
There was a massive turnout of crowd on Saturday as over 1000 residents of Ijero-Ekiti, Ijero Local Government suspended their daily activities to participate in the second edition of the wellness walk tagged ‘The BAO Walk’ organized by a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bimbo Daramola.
The wellness walk, brought together sons and daughters of the town who were were vividly excited at the exercise.
The walk, which lasted for two hours took-off at Igbamitoro Junction and walked approximately 5 kilometers to the Ministry of Agriculture Ikoro Road.
Speaking with journalists, the convener of the program, Hon. Bimbo Daramola said the purpose of the walk was to keep the people fit and reduce residents’ expenses on medical treatments.
He said the initiative was also aimed at complementing the giant strides of Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s in health sector and has gathered momentum among stakeholders in the state.
He disassociated the initiative from politics, while emphasizing the need for individuals to take personal responsibility.
He hailed Governor Oyebanji for investing massively in the health sector, saying his various initiatives and interventions will greatly benefit Ekiti residents.
The congressman urged the residents to patriotise their health, noting that the health walk does not only remove the bottlenecks on the state government but also make them immune to diseases and illnesses.
His words, “It is not directly a political thing. It is about health because health is not partisan.
“I am happy that Ijero people came out and I will encourage the stakeholders here to continue to do this because it’s not only a win win for all of us, it’s a win win for the party, it’s a win win for non party members.
“It’s a win win for the governor who is busy investing Ekiti people’s money in hospitals. He has renovated nine at the last count, he’s currently building 80-bed multidisciplinary hospital in Ado-Ekiti.
“So we are delighted that this has all started out well. We’re going to the South, we’ve done the North, we’ve done the Central now, and then we go to the South, and then we take off again.
“On sustainability, I’m not too sure people are going to forget this in a long time. We have also commended them to continue to do this by themselves. The nurses and doctors have spoken to them, and I know they would at least if not do it in this formal sense, will do it somehow so that physical activity can be taken seriously over accidental lifestyle”.
Also speaking, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Home Affairs, Ojo Atibioke and other stakeholders who spoke commended Daramola for the initiative, adding that his action aligned with the shared prosperity agenda of Governor Oyebanji.