Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo, has warned the political class against diverting palliatives meant for the poor in the state.
The governor, who stated this, yesterday, at the Muhammadu Buhari Civic Centre in Lokoja, while flagging off distribution of palliatives, noted that he would lead the monitoring team to ensure that the items get to the target: poorest of the poor.
Emphasising the need for the people at the grassroots to benefit from the rice palliative, he vowed to sanction political appointees that might wish to divert the food item.
Ododo stated: “This palliative is to alleviate the hardship the people are passing through and it should reach the people at the grassroots. This intervention is meant for the people, and modalities for distribution are water-tight. We have put a mechanism to apprehend and sanction those who may wish to divert the palliative.”
“Government appointees are exempted from the palliative. The palliative is not for the All Progressives Congress (APC) members alone. It is not meant for any religion or political affiliation; rather, it is meant for the good people of Kogi.”
The governor vowed not to condone any act of indiscipline. “I will personally monitor the distribution of the rice, to ensure that the palliative reaches the downtrodden that gave us the mandate to serve them.”
The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, RabiatuOkute, said the distribution of the palliative in Kogi was aimed at alleviating the suffering of citizens as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.
According to her, the palliative, which will be on a quarterly basis, will push hunger to zero level in the state.
“This palliative is part of the electioneering promises of the governor and I assure the people that more dividends of democracy will be delivered by the Ododo-led administration,” she said.
In his goodwill message, the State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Gabriel Amari, thanked the governor for the palliative and assured that NLC would ensure that the rice reached every worker in the state.
