The Osun Government says more than 500,000 vulnerable households have benefitted from its free food programme in the state since its inception in April 2021.
Gov. Gboyega Oyetola, disclosed during the 16th edition of the free food distribution on Thursday in Osogbo.
The governor, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Wole Oyebamiji, said that the free food programme was aimed at meeting the needs of the vulnerable citizens and bringing succour to the less privileged in the society.
Oyetola said that his administration would continue to implement the free food programme until the end of his tenure.
The governor, who said that he was not in any way deterred by the outcome of the governorship election, added that the implementation of the free food initiative was a fulfillment of the promise to make life meaningful and worthwhile for the citizens.
“You will recall that 16 months ago we flagged off the food support scheme for the vulnerable citizens and we did say that as long as we are in power, we would continue this scheme.
“Election or no election cannot hinder the continuity of this programme and many others and the effect of the commitment is what you are seeing today.
“As of today, we are still in a government and as long as we are in government, we shall continue to champion the cause of the masses of our people in line with the mandate.
“We must among other things ensure their welfare and security.
“We are in government and we shall continue to provide this welfare scheme.
We have impacted about half a million households directly since the commencement.
“As you can see, we are distributing garri for this month edition and the purpose of this is to further encourage and promote local production and empower our entrepreneurs.
“This garri is produced by our people and that is the focus of our administration.
“We expect our people to continue to support our administration as we are committed to revolutionalising the economy of the state”, Oyetola said.(NAN)