3rd April, 2024
By Olayinka Olawale/Fabian Ekeruche
The Lagos State Government has attributed the seamless distribution of palliatives to citizens in the state to “careful planning, stakeholders’ engagement, among others”.
The distribution of palliatives in many parts of the country has been characterised by stampede, and in some cases, leading to the death of a sizable number of citizens.
Sanwo-Olu said the distribution of food items to vulnerable households has been carried out through groups, institutions, non-governmental organisations, community development committees and associations of people living with disability.
He said the distribution was also done through the Social Protection Department in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, using the social register of vulnerable people in the state.
Sanwo-Olu said to ensure transparency in the implementation of this intervention, a Monitoring Committee was constituted.
The members were drawn from religious groups, Trade Unions, People with Disability, Civil Society/Non-Governmental organisations, Youth Group, Community Development Councils and representatives of the Lagos State House of Assembly was constituted.
The distribution was phased among the various beneficiary groups for ease of the distribution process. In line with this plan, each group was duly informed of the date of collection.
Sanwo-Olu had on Sept. 3, 2023, flagged-off the Lagos Food Bank Programme to distribute food to 500,000 households to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal and the harsh economic situation in the country.
The governor said over 2,500 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were involved in bag manufacturing, food aggregation, packaging, and logistics as part of the programme, while over 25,000 employees of the MSMEs would be indirectly impacted.
He said the strategy was to reach 500,000 vulnerable households in the state with staple food items using two methodologies – bulk food items (50kg Rice, 50kg Garri and 100kg Beans) for groups, and food boxes (10kg Rice, 5kg Garri, and 5kg Beans) for individual vulnerable households.
Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, Lagos Territorial Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), also underscored the importance of planning and stakeholders’ engagement in distribution of palliatives.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos that his organisation engaged security personnel in all the steps involving the distribution of palliatives.