Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde has disclosed that distribution of palliatives to 200,000 vulnerable households in the state will commence next week.
The governor in a letter to residents of the state from Kigali, Rwanda, attending an Executive Leadership Retreat organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said it had been an engaging conversation.
He said since his broadcast about the sustainable actions, “We will be taking to ensure that our economy continues to run optimally despite the removal of fuel subsidy, we have been working hard to deliver on our promise.
“We created committees and sub-committees as part of the implementation process. Now, I am happy to inform you that the planning process is drawing to a close, and we are ready to begin the full implementation of SAfER.
“In the next week, we shall begin the distribution of the Food Relief Package to 200,000 vulnerable households in our State. Some have asked how we created and updated our social register that contains details of these households.
“Well, we put together the register during the COVID-19 pandemic. We deployed trusted representatives to communities in every part of our dear State. They met with and spoke to community heads who helped to identify the vulnerable in their midst. After this, we did a further verification of the data.
“As we begin the distribution across the 33 LGAs in the state, you will see for yourself how thorough the work is.
“We are distributing to each household 10kg of rice as well as 5kg each of beans, garri, and elubo and a bottle of groundnut oil. So, if you spot any funny business in your community, remember you can always reach out through this newsletter or any of the other feedback channels we have made available to you”.
The governor used the opportunity to provide further updates on other components of the SAfER programme, saying, “After consultations, we have decided to earmark an additional N500 million as loans to smallholder farmers in the state through the Agricultural Credit Corporation of Oyo State (ACCOS).
“These low-interest loans will assist the farmers who may not be reached with the distribution of inputs to 10,000 farmers earlier announced”.
He explained that the profiling process for YEAP beneficiaries with already established businesses who would benefit from the N500 million for enterprise support will soon be complete.
He said within the next two to three weeks, the youths will be contacted, adding that the same goes for the artisans and traders who would be supported through the N500 million set aside for small businesses.
Makinde also stated that as more funds become available, “We will continue to do more for our people. Recently, the Federal Government announced a facility of N5 billion for state governments.’’
