Governor Godwin Obaseki on Saturday said the food palliatives being distributed periodically for the vulnerable in the state have no political undertone as being peddled in some quarters and called on the federal government to come and copy its model which according to him is like a drop in the ocean compared to what the federal government was spending on food palliatives but that of the state gets to real people that need.
He stated this when he flagged off the second phase of the distribution of food for the vulnerable through the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Muslim groups and other associations.
The chairman of CAN in the state, Apostle Irekpono Omoike said 60,000 bags of 10kg of rice were distributed in the first phase and 56,250 bags would be distributed meaning 116,250 families would have been affected by the end of the second phase and appealed to Obaseki to ensure security for the people so that they can go back to their farms instead waiting to be given fishes which is not sustainable.
Speaking during the flag-off, Obaseki said there is no political undertone but a genuine interest for the poor “Thank God the people here are not politicians and I don’t have any politician here with me and I am not contesting an election.” He said
On the programme, he said “From what you have seen today the way the group organised themselves, you could see the transparency with which they have run this programme compared to what the federal government claims they are spending on palliatives, this is chicken change, this is a drop in the ocean but if we do things properly in this country, we know there are challenges, things will go well but with the current leadership, we are not helping ourselves, we are not helping Nigerians and look at how we have run this programme, I hope the federal government will come and learn from here because this is what I have always argued people know what they want.
We made the resources available, got them to organize themselves and you see the way they have handled it, they even procured from the local market thereby boosting the local economy. From the little we have given them see how many families have benefited so it is about transparency, honesty and our willingness to serve the public good.”
He insisted that the third phase would be different to ensure that the beneficiaries were put on a sustainable programme that would leave them independent of the palliatives.
VANGUARD
