Hardship: Akwa Ibom Unveils Free Food Package For Residents

Akwa Ibom State governor, Umo Eno, has unveiled a free food package for poor residents of the state.

The initiative will be executed under the state’s palliative scheme through the newly launched Bulk Purchase Agency (BPA).

Eno said the BPA is deliberately targeted at the less privileged residents who are captured in the social register (SR) for free food items.

At the venues of the ongoing road projects flag-off at Etinan and Uyo, for the construction of two major roads; the 8.6km Ediene Abak-Ikot Ekan road project, and the 7.86km Ring Road III dual carriage projects spanning Idoro Road in Uyo, through Ibiono Ibom local government area to Itak, in Ikono LGA, the governor said his administration was committed to addressing hunger and starvation in the midst of the current economic meltdown.

He said contrary to the initial provisions that the less privileged would buy the food items at subsidised rates, the decision had been cancelled in order to ease the problem of feeding confronting the very poor, stressing that “we are going to make the food available to them at no cost.”

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He said the food intervention programme will be flagged off on Tuesday, March 26, with the launch of the Bulk Purchase Food Vouchers at designated markets in the state, after which the agents would be unveiled to carry out the scheme in all parts of the state.

The governor said, “My personal assistants (PAs) from the wards would be given the vouchers, and they will verify your names in the Social Register before giving you the voucher, after which you will take it, go and redeem the food items from our redemption centres.

“Before the end of this week, we will publish the names of all the redemption centres. And once you get the voucher, you go and get the food item absolutely free. If it is rice, it will be 5kg bags of rice each,” he said.

The governor, reiterated his call on all the 31 LGAs’ transition chairmen and members of the public to return to the farms and make food available, adding that he has charged the Ministry of Agriculture to make inputs available for ease of productivity among farmers in the state.

“I look forward to council chairmen who will invite me to come and inspect the progress recorded in their respective farms,” he stressed.

Eno thanked the people for voting him into office a year ago during the elections and said the roads construction flag-off ceremonies which started in Eket Senatorial District, had taken him to Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District before coming to Uyo Senatorial District, even as he announced a further increase from the initial target of 18 roads, to 20 roads.

He sued for cooperation with the contractors handling projects across the state, warning that government would deal decisively with any community or its leader, if they embark on actions that stall the progress of any project.

“It is in our place to protect and cooperate with the contractors to ensure the work is done right and not put them under unnecessary pressure. A monitoring team has been put in place and I won’t mind terminating any contract if the contractors are not performing optimally,” he advised.