The Imo government said it commenced Wednesday distributing 65,000 bags of rice to cushion the effect of the petrol subsidy removal on the people.

In a speech at the launch of the exercise in Owerri, Governor Hope Uzodimma said the fuel subsidy removal was “one of the most quotient policies of the Federal Government to save the economy from collapse.”

Mr Uzodimma said the federal government’s introduction of physical support to state governments aimed to tackle the challenges of the high cost of living and poverty caused by the policy.

The governor said one of the support measures was the federal government’s N7 billion donation to every state.

“I can confirm that Imo has received its own. The federal government also worked out a programme to distribute food products to the citizenry through the state governments and promised to purchase N4 billion worth of rice at N40,000 per bag,” said Mr Uzodimma. “Of the N4 billion, N2 billion has been released, while the remaining N2 billion will be sent soon.”

Mr Uzodimma further disclosed that the federal government would also deliver maize worth N1 billion to every state. He said the Imo government procured the rice from local markets to encourage the value chain.

Mr Uzodimma said distributing the 65,000 bags of rice was the first phase of the federal government’s palliatives.

The governor commended President Bola Tinubu for the initiative and described him as “a great thinker and economist who knows how to create wealth and rebuild the economy.”

According to him, Mr Tinubu’s policies will help recover the economy, reduce the high exchange rate and create prosperity for the people. Mr Uzodimma said the federal government would soon release compressed natural gas and electric buses to states.

Mr Uzodimma explained that the Imo government had concluded plans to float a new transport company equipped with new vehicles to reduce the cost of transportation.

Mr Uzodimma warned against partisanship in the distribution of the items.

“This has shown that the federal government is not insensitive to the sufferings of the people and the hardship occasioned by the policy of fuel subsidy removal. There is no point politicising it. The president is committed to recover our economy and bring back Nigeria to its lost glory,” noted the Imo governor.

Mr Uzodimma added, “So, we need to support and we are determined to support him.”

(NAN)