Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo, on Friday, flagged off the N1 billion ‘Feed the Hungry’ initiative through churches and mosques to cushion the effect of economic hardship on the people of the state.

Mr Obaseki, who met with religious leaders in Benin, said the initiative being the first phase, would target more than 60,000 vulnerable individuals in Edo.

The governor added that the initiative, with the potential to make a significant difference in the lives of those in need, would go beyond food distribution to skills acquisition.

He said that the initiative would be solely driven by religious leaders while the state government would provide the funds and monitor the process.

According to Mr Obaseki, the funds would be paid into a dedicated account for the religious leaders to implement the initiative.

“I have called you to collaborate with you so that we can grow ourselves out of this self-inflicted economic hardship and hunger ravaging Nigeria.

“I know that when people are in distress, very few of them will be able to cross the gate of the government house to see me.

“But almost all of them have been coming to the various churches and mosques for assistance.

“I am sure that in the last few years of extreme economic hardship, the burden of the churches and mosques have increased.

“That is why we want to use the churches and mosques for this initiative.

“When we first raised the alarm of an imminent economic danger, some people thought we were merely playing the opposition,” he said.

Mr Obaseki said that as a government, rather than sit and lament over the situation it decided to lift the poor and the vulnerable out of hunger.

The governor also disclosed that he would be using the structure of the feed the hungry initiative through churches and mosques to also distribute agriculture inputs for fishery and poultry.

“When we get this programme settled in the next few weeks, we will reach out to you to make the people know the inputs that we can give them.

“We will be giving them the assurance that we will buy all their produce, particularly the ones with protein,” he said.

The Chief Imam of Benin, Abdulfatai Enabulele, commended the governor for the initiative, while assuring that the items would reach the targeted people.

Also speaking, the chairman Edo State Muslims Welfare Board, Ibrahim Oyarkhua, warned religious leaders to avoid hoarding the items for distribution and betraying the trust reposed in them.

Earlier in his remarks, Archbishop of Benin Catholic Diocese, Austin Akubueze, said that the initiative to feed the poor through the church will yield the desired result.

(NAN)