26th May, 2024
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo over the weekend flagged-off the Christian feeding programme, an arm of the ‘Feed the hungry initiative’ programme, in the Central Senatorial District of the state.
The flag-off ceremony which took place in Ewu Flour Mill, Irrua, Esan Central local government area, was jointly organised by the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and the State Government.
The initiative is designed to cushion the excruciating effect of the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government, which has resulted in untold hardship on Nigerians.
No fewer than 3000 bags of rice would be distributed to each of the local government areas, amounting to 54,000 bags, while the remaining 6,000 bags would be distributed to churches not captured under CAN.
Speaking at the event, the Governor who expressed worry by the rising number of people who cannot afford a square meal in a day in the state, disclosed that his government has earmarked the sum of ₦1 billion monthly for the next three months, for the first phase of the programme.
He said the programme was not just to feed the vulnerable, but also to gather more data about people in the state on how government can create employment for them and how the government can render help where necessary.
“I was worried by the rising number of people who cannot afford a square meal in a day. So, I thought to myself how do we solve this problem. This is not politics I told myself.
“We are launching the first phase, so that we can give food to those who can’t afford to eat, and as we are giving them food, we get more information about where they live and what they do. Even if they don’t have identity card, we still give them.
“When people are hungry, they don’t come to the Government House but to the Church and that is why we team up together for this. I did it for God and not for politics. That is why I did not involve government officials.
“We are also doing a something similar for the Muslims because we want an all inclusive Edo where everyone who live here should feel they are part of the state,” Obaseki said.
It would be recalled that the same initiative was also flagged-off in Edo South on Friday, 3 May, 2024, during which 60,000-10kg bags of rice were distributed to Christian faithful of all denominations.