Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has flagged off the distribution of 300,000 bags of 10kg rice palliatives to citizens of the state.
The event, which took place on Friday, was in line with the promise made by Prince Abiodun to ensure the immediate distribution of the palliatives.
The governor acknowledged that the palliatives were sent to states by the federal government and has been domesticated by the state government.
“This is a federal government initiative under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that is being domesticated right here in Ogun State.
“Our desire in the first instance is to distribute about 300,000 bags of 10kg rice across our 5,400 polling units.
“We have decided to use the polling units as a reference of distribution, not wards, because we realized that using wards won’t be equitable.
“You can imagine taking a ward in Sagamu, for example, like the Ogijo ward and compare it with a ward in Ikenne. If we use the ward as the yardstick for distributing the palliatives, it is very unfair and not equitable.
“But because we know that the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has done a very detailed arrangement of our polling units to the point where all of us belong to a polling unit and that has allowed us to determine the number of people that are in our different wards.
“So you find out that a ward in Ogijo, for example, will have by far more polling units than a ward in Ikenne or Remo North. So we decided that we will use the polling units as a point of reference,” he said.
Abiodun noted that a committee made up of eminent men and women of distinguished character has been set up to oversee the distribution of the palliatives.
He said that the committee, chaired by his deputy, would ensure that the palliative distribution is effectively implemented, while the 20 local governmentts will also have similar committees.
“This committee is made up of very eminent, dependable, and distinguished men and women across the state.
“The committee will be chaired by my Deputy Governor and she will be supported by our former deputy governors that are here present, two members of the National Assembly, one representing the House of Representatives, and the other representing the Senate.
“Members of the state’s Assembly, namely the Deputy Speaker and the Minority Leader, our Iyalojas, our CDCs, CDAs, members of our youth community, our inter-ethnic representatives, our community leaders and other distinguished eminent personalities that we believe will ensure that the palliative distribution is effectively, efficiently and transparently implemented,” he said.
