Zamfara State Government has cleared the air on the N2.9bn Ramadan feeding being presented by the state governor, Bello Matawalle as the amount being spent for during the just concluded 30-month Ramadan fasting.
In a statement issued to Tribune Online and signed by the Special Adviser Public Enlightenment, Media, and Communication, Zailani Bappa on Sunday morning said that the N2.9bn was not the actual amount but N1.1bn.
According to the statement, the amount was spent for the provision of foodstuff, purchase of cooking materials and ingredients as well as the payment of cooks who supply food twice daily in all the selected feeding centres across the state.
“Hence, the figure of N1,100,000,000 is the actual amount of money spent by Zamfara State Government during the festive period to ease the fasting of all citizens of the state, especially under the current pandemic of COVID-19.
The full statement read as follows :
“The attention of Zamfara State Government House is drawn to stories carried on many media platforms of the sum of N2.9 billion spent on the provision of Ramadan palliatives in the state.
“The information rightly emanate from the speech read by His Excellency, Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle (Matawallen Maradun) in a statewide broadcast to mark the end of the fasting period to wish all Muslims a stress-free Sallah celebration.
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“Indeed, the Governor made mention of the said figures as palliatives cost during the period in question, but a breakdown of how that figure was arrived at did not reflect in the speech which is drawing a lot of criticisms from the general public.
“Hence, the need for immediate clarification. The state Government actually spent the sum of N1,100, 000, 000 in the provision of foodstuff, purchase of cooking materials and ingredients and in the payment of cooks for the supply of food twice daily in all the selected feeding centres across the state throughout the one month period of the Ramadan.
“The balance is not actually an amount spent but represents the cost of foodstuff acquired for Civil Servants in the state of which Zamfara State Government stood as guarantor.
“In repayment of the cost of the foodstuff by the benefitting civil servants, the state Government will subsidise the cost by offsetting a fraction of the cost of the items supplied.
“Hence, the figure of N1,100,000,000 is the actual amount of money spent by Zamfara State Government during the festive period to ease the fasting of all citizens of the state, especially under the current pandemic of COVID-19.
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