Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has declared that his administration will not sustain the ongoing distribution of palliatives to the poor and vulnerable households across the 31 local government areas.
Speaking at the media conversation with the media community at the Banquet hall, Government House, Uyo, to commemorate the anniversary of the state, which turned 37 on Monday, September 23, 2024, the governor expressed concern about the plights of the heavily impacted families. He said the food handouts intervention was a more expensive and unrealistic option to address the prevailing poverty in the land permanently.
Therefore, he made a case for holistic action by every state resident to embrace aggressive farming, assuring government support in farm inputs, including fertilisers, improved seedlings, and other facilities.
The governor, who spoke against the backdrop of the ongoing distribution of garri, rice and beans to vulnerable households, directed the state’s Bulk Purchase Agency (BPA) to ensure seamless implementation of the scheme directly to the targetted impoverished population.
In line with this directive, the executive chairman of the agency, Dr Daniel Akpan, a former House of Assembly member for Nsit Ubium, while addressing beneficiaries in Okobo LGA at the weekend, assured of fair and transparent disbursement of the palliatives to the very poor households.
He explained that the voucher system was adopted to ensure transparency and accountability in the state government’s intervention programmes and to ease the burden of the poor in these trying moments of the nation’s history.
“For this second phase, we started with Ibesikpo Asutan LGA. We’ve been to Etim Ekpo, Nsit Atai and Okobo LGAs.
He said: “We came here with 5,000 bags of beans, rice, and garri, each weighing 5kg. We are sharing these food items according to wards. The process is simple. You use your voucher to receive the item. But if your name is not in the social register, we cannot give you anything,” he explained.
In the same vein, the agency’s General Manager (GM), Mr Unyime Etim, the former deputy speaker of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and one of the key political stakeholders in Okobo, Princess Felicia Bassey, described the governor’s gesture in these trying times as worthy of commendation.
“I feel excited about what I am witnessing in Okobo today, and I am happy that we have a ‘talk and do’ governor in Akwa Ibom state in the person of Pastor Umo Eno,” the former lawmaker noted.
Also, the Okobo transition committee chairman, Mr Anthony Antigha, said he could not appreciate the governor enough for supporting the economically challenged with essential food commodities now that Nigeria is facing a serious food crisis.
“I thank the governor for initiating this free food distribution programme to assist vulnerable families in the state when people in the country face untold hardship. He has done very well. Okobo people will continue to give him support,” he noted.
