Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State
By Emmanuel Dungs, Lafia
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has urged journalists in the state to investigate and closely monitor the distribution of COVID-19 palliatives to vulnerable individuals to ensure equitable and transparent distribution.
The Governor gave the directive on Wednesday at the state Government House Lafia, while flagging-off the distribution of 38 truckloads of assorted food items donated by CACOVID to the state.
The governor who said he has received series of complains of sharp practices in the distribution of palliatives across the state, said there is the need to monitor the committees on their distribution pattern so that the food items will get to the intended beneficiaries in appreciable quantity and quality.
According to the governor, for now, each Local Government Area would get one truck of various food items including rice, noodles, cooking oil, semolina, salt and sugar, among other food items.
“The palliatives would be distributed to all the 1, 945 polling units in the state to the vulnerable to lessen their hardship.
“The civil servants, businessmen and women, political appointees and members of the committee at the state and local government levels are exempted from the intervention.
He emphasised that: “The committee members at all levels would be held responsible for any abnormality and diversion in the distribution.”
According to him the special committee, chaired by the commissioners and co-chaired by LGA Chairmen would still handle the distribution.
Earlier, the deputy governor, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe, who is also the Chairman of the Palliatives Distribution Committee, stated that they had put machinery on ground to ensure that the items got to the poorest people that really deserved it.
He explained further that the distribution would be done at the 1,945 polling units.
He disclosed that every beneficiary in a household would fill a form and provide phone numbers, names, location, among other information.
“The essence of the information is to afford the government the opportunity to verify whether the items got to the deserving people.
“We can pick any form and call the number of the person who collected the items for confirmation,” Dr. Akabe stated.
