Fuel subsidy removal: Sanwo-Olu flags off distribution of

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, officially flagged off the distribution of palliatives in the state on Sunday to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidies, saying that the gesture was meant for 500,000 vulnerable households in the state.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, who spoke at the event tagged “Flag-off of the Lagos Food Bank Programme,” which took place at the Lagos House and was attended by representatives of various groups, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Civil Society Groups (CSOs), Muslim and Christian bodies as well as traditionalists, youth groups, and People Living With Disabilities (PLWDs), among others, said the strategic goal of the programme was to reach the targeted households in the state with staple food items using two methodologies.

According to him, the two methodologies listed are bulk food items (50kg Rice, 50kg Garri, and 100kg Beans) for groups and food boxes (10kg Rice, 5kg Garri, and 5kg Beans) for individual vulnerable households, saying that the distribution of the food items to vulnerable households “will be done through groups, Institutions, Non-governmental organisations, Community Development Committees, People Living with disabilities, and the Social Protection Department in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, using the Social Register of vulnerable in the state.”

The governor, however, said a Monitoring Committee had been put in place to ensure transparency in the implementation of this intervention, pointing out that the Committee members were drawn from religious groups, Trade Unions, People with disabilities, Civil society and non-governmental organisations, Youth groups, Community Development councils, and representatives of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

“Further to this, distribution will be phased among the various beneficiary groups for ease of the distribution process. In line with this plan, each group will be duly informed of the date for collection.

“Overall, this initiative will directly impact 500,000 benefiting households and over 2,500 Micro, small, and Medium Enterprises involved in bag manufacturing, food aggregation, packaging, and logistics, while over 25,000 employees of the MSMEs will be indirectly impacted,” the governor said.