Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, on Wednesday, began distribution of palliative packages to 200,000 households in the state under what is termed delivering Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER).
At the distribution held in Oyo town, Makinde explained that his government did not rush to begin distribution of the palliatives because of the need to effectively plan and embark on sustainable action that will secure the state economy.
He explained that the state upon receiving 3,000 bags of rice from the federal government decided to tarry a while, knowing that such will be inadequate if shared to the target 200,000 households.
As a result, he said the state government tarried till it procured 37,000 bags amounting to a total of 40,000 bags of rice to be shared.
He added that the state also had to procure bags of beans, yam flour, and bottles of vegetable oil from locals across the zones of the state so as to deliver a truly SAfER package.
The distribution simultaneously began across zones of the state on Wednesday, involving other top government officials like the deputy governor, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff to the Governor and Commissioners.
Addressing the issue of trust deficit that state governments faced regarding utilisation of the funds and items received from the federal government, Makinde said he was among the first governors to acknowledge receipt of funds and items from the central government.
He added that he was buoyed by the confidence that the people of the state trusted him on actual disclosure and efficient utilisation of funds of the state.
Makinde said: “Some people have been going round on radio and social media asking the whereabouts of the 3,000 bags of rice given to Oyo State by the federal government.
“Others are saying the federal government gave us N5 billion and we have embezzled it. Some say there is trust deficit between the government and the people. Is it so in Oyo State? Don’t you love this administration?
“This administration will not deceive you, we will tell you exactly the way things are.
“We were one of the first states to acknowledge that the federal government gave us 3,000 bags of rice.
“I stated it in my newsletter of the 10th of August that we planned to distribute this food relief package to 200,000 households.
“If we distributed the 3,000 bags we received from the federal government to 200,000 households, probably each person would get a cup of rice.
“If we had rushed out to make naysayers happy, they will still be the first to rush to social media to put out videos of how small the package is. So we took our time to plan because both in the short and long time, we are thinking about securing our economy.
“We bought an additional 37,000 bags of rice making a total of 40 bad of rice. That is why each of the 200,000 poorest households will be getting 10kg of rice. We also procured for each household 5k bag of beans, garri, elubo and a bottle of oil.
“We know everyone is affected by our present economic realities and thatais why other components of the SAfER programme take into consideration other segments of the society.
“We believe in actions, not just in actions but in sustainable actions. That is why while everyone else is talking about palliative, we are talking about Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER).
“In Oyo State, we are doing SAfER not palliative. So, we are here to deliver you SAfER package. The dictionary meaning of palliative is you treat the symptoms and leave the main cause. In Oyo State, we don’t want to treat the symptoms, we want to attack the root. One thing about sustainable action is that it takes proper planning and strategy.”
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