Adebayo Adenrele
The Ekiti State Government on wednesday will start distributing palliatives to its residents to cushion the effects of subsidy removal.
Briefing Journalists at the end of the weekly Executive meeting, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, who is also the Chairman of the Palliative Distribution Committee, Ebenezer Boluwade, said three thousand bags of rice, which is in five trucks landed in the State on monday.
In his words, “As at last Friday we received 3000 bags of rice from the Federal Government, this five trucks or 600 metric tons. During offloading we had issues with some of the bags. We had 18 bags defects, meaning that the good ones is 2,982 bags.”
While giving the breakdown of the distribution, he said:
“We also specially allocated 100 bags for widows. All the artisans in the private sector, 200 bags of rice, while the transport union got 180 bags.
“All the market women in Ekiti State were allocated 100 bags. The special group got 150 bags, while the people with disability got 140. The elderly that is the pensioners got 100 bags. The civil servants comprising the junior staff got 100 bags.”
He added the distribution has no political imprint and would capture the 177 political wards across the sixteen local government of the State.
The Commissioner flanked by his counterpart from the Ministry of Information Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun, Special Adviser to the Governor on Social Investment Programme, Yemisi Ayokunle and the Special Adviser to the governor on Rural Mobilization, Remi Ajayi-Babinton, said the distribution of the first trench of the palliative would capture only the vulnerable members of the society.
Those mentioned by the Commissioner include, artisans, transport unions, market men and women, as well as the elderly people including members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) Ekiti State Chapter.
Others mentioned by him are People eith Disabilities (PWDs), members of the political class, farmers as well as civil servants in the lower cadres, among others.
Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Information in the State, Hon Taiwo Olatunbosun, said the move is part of the 6-point agenda of Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration in ensuring that people of the State enjoy the best in his administration.
He explained that the distribution which will be done in batches, would not spare everybody in the State regardless of their political parties.
He advised those who are yet to be benefited from the first trench of the distribution to exercise patient as the palliatives would capture all.
