On Tuesday, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq inaugurated a 12-man committee to distribute the N5 billion in palliatives to the State.
He reaffirmed the government’s dedication to ensuring that the distribution process is completely impartial, open, and trustworthy.
The palliative, according to the governor, is just one of several measures the government has taken to improve the economy and help the populace cope with the effects of the loss of fuel subsidies.
“It is important to clarify that food palliatives are only a stopgap measure to show empathy and reach out to the people, especially the most vulnerable ones among us.
“It is not the only step the government has taken since the removal of fuel subsidy. Government is committing huge resources to hasten mass production and use of gas and electricity-powered vehicles nationwide, as well boost agricultural productivity, manufacturing, and small and medium scale enterprises.
“We are in this together, and I plead that we work together as one people bound by one destiny to get over this current challenge,” AbdulRazaq told the committee.
He added that,
“We have set up this committee to make the process of distributing the palliative as non-partisan, transparent, participatory and credible as humanly possible. We trust your judgment and commitment to make the palliatives to reach the nearest and farthest corners of our State.”
The Governor commended members of the committee for accepting to serve, urging them to make Kwara a shining example.
The committee’s terms of reference include to reach out to different stakeholders and communities, including labour and trade unions, marketers, and to generate a list of beneficiaries that would be as representative as possible.
The committee, among other things, will also coordinate and distribute the rice palliative in 10kg bags, as well as advise the government on the best way to handle the maize component of the palliative.
The timeframe for the assignment would be determined by different factors, such as the receipt of the balance of N2bn to be given to the State, which would then be used to purchase new consignments of the food stuffs, according to the terms of reference.
Speaking on behalf of the committee, the Commissioner of Police, Ebunoluwa Rotimi Adelesi said: “We thank His Excellency for finding us worthy and for having the trust in us to be members of this committee.
“We promise to be transparent. We are not going to let the Governor and the State down.
“We will put into consideration the people who are supposed to be given the palliatives: the deserving people. We are going to abide by the terms of reference and we will come clean with the public to let them know what we are doing. We will not let you down.”
Members of the committee include: CP Adelesi, His Royal Highness Dr. Haliru Yahaya (OON), Abdulrasheed Shafi (DSS), Prof Hamzah Abdulraheem (Secretary General of JNI, Kwara State) and Bishop Sunday Timothy Adewole (CAN).
Others include Dr Lawal Olohungbebe (CSO), Mrs Grace Funke Bolaji (CSO), Dr. Saudat AbdulBaqi; Stephen Owoyale, Comrade Yusuf Bashir (people living with disabilities), Binta Abubakar Mora (NUJ) and Abdulrahman Babatunde Ameen (Secretary).