The Delta State Government has assured that there would be no manipulation in the distribution of food items sent to the state by the federal government as palliative to cushion the effect of the prevailing economic downturn in the country in line with the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Taking delivery of 19,500 bags of 50 kilogrammes of maize, and 4,700 bags of 25 kilogrammes of garri on behalf of the state government on Wednesday, Secretary to the State Government, (SSG) Dr. Kingsley Emu, thanked President Tinubu for the bold step, and promised to deliver them to the vulnerable groups.
Noting however that the items were not enough to take care of the identified beneficiaries, Dr. Emu disclosed that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had taken proactive steps to ameliorate the plight of Deltans since fuel subsidy was removed on May 29, 2023.
The SSG said “We thank the President for this generous gesture. Even though it is insufficient to Nigerians, it shows that he is compassionate. It is a short-term measure, and we are convinced that we have medium to long-term interventions. So, on behalf of the governor of Delta State, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, we like to welcome you to our state. As a state, we have done very many interventions that have touched the lives of our people because that’s what His Excellency is on oath to do as a social contract to the people. We paid in excess of N5.65 billion to our esteemed civil servants as promotion arrears and recruited over 2,000 workers in our local government Areas.
“We are also looking at short courses for our artisans like barbers, bricklayers, plumbers; these are all drawn from the 25 Local Government Areas. This is to strengthen them with their working capitals because we do know that we have a hostile operating environment in the country”.
In the area of development, the SSG said the present administration has constructed roads and bridges in upland and riverine communities, created wealth to tackle the all-time inflation and naira devaluation, pointing out that steps taken to combat insecurity have made Delta the safest state in the country.
On the sharing of the palliative, Emu, who is the chairman of the committee, assured that the food items would get to the benefiting individuals and groups.
“We have zero tolerance for manipulation. In one particular local government where a councilor decided to work on his own, he was penalised. He was brought before the governor and was made to pay back those bags of rice, even though he shared them. We, as a committee, have zero tolerance for manipulation. So, we want to assure you that we will do our very best. Tell the DG when you go back that you saw a good template in Delta State; if possible, you can come and copy it”.
The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA) Mrs. Zubaida Umar, represented by Brandon Ibarakumor who presented the food items, said it was a way to cushion the plight of Deltans, and charged the committee to ensure they got to the beneficiaries across the 25 local government areas of the state.
Umar said the food commodities were sent to the state based on the president’s directive that food items be distributed across the country from the National Strategic Reserve under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
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