Sola Ojo, Kaduna

As part of efforts to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown among vulnerable groups in Kaduna State, the state government on Saturday began the distribution of the N500 million worth of food items to the homes of the beneficiaries in the eight pilot local government areas.

To ensure utilisation of community structures, the State COVID-19 Task Force had proposed the appointment of a 7-person team per cluster which include religious leaders, traditional leaders and leaders of thought in the community, Commissioner, Human Services and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba said.

Flagging-off the distribution at the local government under her supervision, the Kaduna North, Babd said the arrangement has been concluded with security men to take the relief package to the homes of the each of the beneficiaries to guide against gathering crowd.

Kaduna North local government has ten clusters which are Badarawa, Anyin Banki, Angwan Kadara, Angwan Rimi, Angwan Shanu, Rafin Gusa, Kawo, Kabala, Doka 1 and Doka 2. Each of the cluster has about 900 names, address and phone numbers for verifications by interested parties.

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Breaking down the item expected to be distributed in Kaduna North local government, Baba said “for the 10 clusters, we have so far received 10,000 cartons of Noodles, 850 50kg bags of rice, 1,400 cartons of spaghetti, 1,290 packs of vegetable oil (pack of 4) and 120 bags of beans. We still await 4,200 bags of semovita, 1,200 packs of sugar and 2,200 bags of garri.

“We are targeting the aged, the widows, the people with disabilities, VVF patients who are in the hospital and cannot go home among other vulnerable groups.

“We have the names, address and phone number of the beneficiaries because we want to be transparent as much as possible and that is why we have the media and representative of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and other interests here to witness what we are doing.”

When she was asked why non-governmental organisations were not involved in the distribution team, the commissioner explained: “I have been receiving text messages from NGOs that they want to be part of the distribution. But, I declined because we have so many of them here in Kaduna. So which one do I take and which do I leave out?

“In order not to appear good to some and bad to some, I declined their calls to be involved. However, that does not mean they cannot do follow up. In fact, let me call on all NGOs in Kaduna to form a coalition and bring what they have to support the government,” she added.