Ondo govt receives FG palliatives, says distribution won’t be political

“We have gotten N2 billion, and we hope that they will give us the balance,” Wale Akinterinwa, the state commissioner for finance, said.

Tosin Ajuwon • August 31, 2023

palliatives [Credit: Premium Times]

The Ondo government on Thursday confirmed the receipt of N2 billion approved by the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu to mitigate the biting effect of the fuel subsidy removal.

“We have gotten N2 billion, and we hope that they will give us the balance,” Wale Akinterinwa, the state commissioner for finance, told reporters in Akure, the state capital.

Mr Akinterinwa spoke while leading members of the Palliative Strategy and Implementation Committee set up by the state government on a tour of the warehouse where the food items to be distributed as palliative were kept.

He explained that the sum was part of the N5 billion to be added to the grains meant for palliative promised by the FG.

According to him, the state has also received 5,700 bags of rice, which will be shared soon for the vulnerable.

“The federal government gave us 5700 bags of rice, and the state has bought more, too, but we will start sharing very soon.

“They sent maize to us, but we received little amount of maize, and we hope to get the balance. We put together a committee at the local government level to make it easier,” he said.

While reiterating that security has been beefed up around warehouses, Mr Akinterinwa said the distribution would not be political or bais.

“The distribution will not be a party affair. That is why we put up the committee. We have the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Muslim society representatives to help us see to the distribution.

“So, the ones we got from the FG and the ones we got here in the state, we would be distributing 12,000 bags of rice. We are also giving out package food items aside from the rice, and this consists of four different food items,” the commissioner said.

Mr Akinterinwa, however, stressed that local farmers would mostly be carried along and supported in the distribution of the palliative, noting that the state hopes to tackle the issue of the food crisis.

“We have supported the farmers to get certain things they need. The inputs for farmers are ready. We have power tillers, pesticides, and tricycles to help move farm harvests to cities,” he stated.

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