Moshood Adebayo
As part of the stimulus to cushion the effects of the pandemic Coronavirus, the Federal Government, today handed over 6, 000 bags, of 50 kg rice and other items to the Lagos State Goverment for onward distribution to its residents.
The food package include six thousand 50kg bags of rice and two trucks of twenty litres of vegetable oil.
It also commenced the disbursement of trader moni and other relief items in Lagos for onward, distribution to thounsands of vulnerable, and other special and targeted category of people in the state.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouk, announced the package during a visit to Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Farouk said the petty cash was targeted at the vulnerable already captured in the market/trader moni programme of the Federal Government, with beneficiaries to receive N20,000 each, representing four months as against N5,000 monthly disbursement.
“We are here to pay a solidarity visit to the government and people of Lagos State on this unfortunate Covid-19 pandemic that is affecting us in the nation and, secondly, to follow up on the directive of Mr. President to give out palliatives to the affected states – Lagos, Ogun and FCT that are lockdown by the Federal Government.
“We are bringing food relief in term of rice and condiment and, secondly, we want to also flag off the trader and market moni intervention programme that has been in existence for some time,” said the minister.
Farouk said President Muhammadu Buhari had directed that the intervention programme be expanded to also include other vulnerable group especially the market moni and trader moni, adding “this is basically why we are here in Lagos.”
While taking over the items, Sanwo-Olu, on behalf of Lagos State, thanked President Buhari for “leading the nation at this time.”
“You are aware they have started intervention in other parts of the country even before they got in here, and like the minister said, they have started identifying from their database those that will enjoy intervention of trader moni and market moni, that is something I think is novel and we’re ncouraged because it’s going to affect the market women and men.
With the relief items coming from the Federal Government, Sanwo Olu said Lagos will have more than enough to complement the emergency food packages already started by the state government in response to the Covid-19 lockdown.
While noting that Lagosians who did not receive the relief item under its phase one or two will get in phase three, the governor said: “If you don’t get in phase 1 or II, you will get in phase III. We would continue to review, so that we don’t give the same set of people everytime.
“With what the state and private sector have also donated, we will be getting more than enough to give out. All we need to do is to manage the logistics, which is what we are doing, but we have to tell the people; patience is also important, we will get these things out as soon as possible,” the governor said.
