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How Reverend Mother Esther Ajayi Paid N4.850m to Rescue 20 Years-Old Tosin Ojelabi from Killer Disease
By Eric Elezuo
For Tosin Ojelabi, the true meaning of joy has been made manifest. For her, joy is God sent; joy is a woman; joy is Reverend Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi, who kindheartedly doled out a whopping Four Million, Eight hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N4.850m) to cure and rescue her from a a disease that was at the verge of snuffing out her life. A disease diagnosed as acute Budd-chiari syndrome
In February 2019, the never tired of doing good and coming to the rescue of the sick and the needy in the society, and Founder, Esther Ajayi Foundation and General Overseer, Love of Christ (Generation) Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Clapham, England, Reverend Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi, heard the cries of the Ojelabi family, whose 20 year-old daughter, Tosin, was being ravaged by the Budd-chiari syndome, which is associated with the liver failure and bloating of major body organs including the legs and stomach.
Promptly, the woman, better known as Iya Adura by well wishers and faithful, dispatched her spokesperson, Mr. Abiodun Paseda, the CEO, Focus on Disability Foundation, to Ibadan, where Tosin and her family live, for a preliminary assessment of her situation.
Tosin, with Mr. Paseda, during her critical days
Tosin was discovered to have suffered from the ailment since 2015.
Reviewing her case when he visited her in her Ibadan abode, Mr Paseda disclosed that she needs to undergo Transjugalar Intrahepatic Portosystemic (TIPS) shunt Surgery, which will gulp about N4.7 million, and through to type, the ever kind Reverend Mother promptly released the money, even in excess, and the surgery was billed to take place at Eurapharma Care Services in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
Today, Tosin is on her feet again, looking robust and set to grab life again.
Tosin’s ordeal started when she was in 15 years old and in SS1. She’d noted that her legs were unusually swelling up; a situation she dismissed as normal, as according to her, she was always sitting in the class without moving around. Even a visit to the doctor when the situation persists informed her that nothing was amiss, but her sufferings intensified.
A highly thankful Tosin after the surgery
It was reported that “Tosin was having a lot of fluid accumulating in her distended abdomen. About 33 litres of fluid was being drained from her protruding belly monthly. She carried the protruding belly around for the next couple of years. Her life was anything but normal during this period and could best be described as a living hell.” That was when God through Reverend Ajayi took over her case, paid her bills directly to the hospital and brought succour to her life and her family’s.
Mr. Paseda also revealed that medical experts were brought in from the United States, who gave thorough diagnoses of Tosin’s case in preparation to her operation. Consequently, on March 9, 2019, the EuraPharma Care services successfully performed the operation, the first of its type in Nigeria. The surgery which lasted five and half hours was led by a US trained Vascular and Interventional Radiologist, Dr. Hammed Ninalowo.
A fully recovered Tosin, ready for life again
Expressing her joy after the surgery, a highly elated Tosin heaped encomiums on the person of Reverend Mother Ajayi through whom God came to her rescue. She intoned “there’s a huge difference in quality of life for me now…school is the next thing for me definitely. Now I’m fully recovered, I plan to write JAMB exam next year, and hopefully, I’ll gain admission.
In his remarks, Paseda reminded all the Reverend Mother Ajayi, whose stock in trade is putting smiles on the faces of the needy is not done yet, as she continually goes about doing good in cash and kind.
“Mama is one of a kind. Her heart for goodness is unrivaled,” Paseda submitted.
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
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