The Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has said that he will merely mark his birthday anniversary and not celebrate it as he clocks 65 years on Saturday, August 8, 2020.

Speaking through the state’s Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C. Don Adinuba, in a statement in Awka on Tuesday, Governor Obiano observed as he would attain 65 years ‪on Saturday, August 8, 2020, a lot of people and groups from across Anambra State and beyond had been preparing to celebrate the birthday even as he noted that the Anambra State Government appreciates this show of love, fraternity and solidarity.

Obiano pointd out that as it had become the tradition since the Anambra State people gave him the mandate to lead them in November 2013 and generously renewed it four years later in an unprecedented manner, himself and his family would mark it with prayers and a private mass to thank God for his abundant blessings to him, including his eventful life and robust health.

He noted that he would use the opportunity to meditate on his relationship with his creator while urging individuals, groups and organizations to pray for him and his family.

The Governor added that with the coronavirus still ravaging the world, felt that the times called for sober reflection rather than gaiety noting that “Covid-19 has caused deaths in their hundreds of thousands across the globe, inflicted severe health challenges on many more people, caused businesses to collapse and cost millions of people their jobs and billions their most cherished relationships. Ndi Anambra are not free of this phenomenon.”

He however encouraged those who want to place advertisements in the mass media to congratulate him on his 65th birthday to donate the monies for such paid messages to the foundation which caters for people with mental health issues at a special home for them in Nteje, Oyi Local Government Area.

According to him, “People with mental health challenges are the most marginalized and discriminated against in our society. They, therefore, need a lot of financial and emotional support.

“Those who want to donate for their upkeep are advised to send the donations to the Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFI), with First Bank account number 2026510710. God, indeed, loves cheerful givers (2nd Corinthians 9: 6-7).”