The Ondo government says it feels the “pains” of its people as they endure the hardships caused by fuel subsidy removal, stressing that President Bola Tinubu’s 3,000 bags of rice for “vulnerable” people in the state are not enough.

“Once again, we reiterate that we feel your pain, we are in this together, and we will get through this testy phase of our nation’s path to greatness,” Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, the spokeswoman for the Ondo government said in a statement on Tuesday. 

Mrs Ademola-Olateju added, “On the palliative measures we have planned, we are committed to equitable distribution and transparent conduct, as we seek to mitigate the current hardship.”

Recently, President Bola Tinubu rolled out a range of measures to cushion the effect of the hardships experienced by Nigerians, including the World Bank-backed cash transfer to poor Nigerian households, releasing of grains to boost food security, fertilisers for farmers, mass transit for workers, loans for SMEs and startups, and infrastructure funds for the state among several others. 

Following the development, the Ondo government, a fortnight ago, confirmed receiving N5 billion from Mr Tinubu’s government including 3,000 bags of rice to be shared to “vulnerable” residents. 

The government noted that the bags of rice received was far below expectation but promised to procure additional 3,000 bags to make it 6,000 bags and shared among the residents. 

But giving an update in the statement, Mrs Ademola-Olateju said the palliative committee set up by the Ondo government reviewed its implementation strategy for the distribution plan. 

“Vulnerable people in our communities will start getting their N10,000 from the first week of September,” and for civil servants, “the outstanding leave bonus for 2020 will be paid along with their salaries this month,” noted the statement. 

“Supply of these products and their packaging into smaller bags will take time. However, we will save time using a rolling plan. Our plan will roll out these items in batches by senatorial district, for efficient distribution and monitoring. We expect to begin the distribution of food items by September 1st,” said the statement.

It added, “On transportation, the plan for school buses and boats is in top gear. We are confident we will be ready by the time school starts.”