By Marufh Bello
The Oyo State Government has informed that the state will be locked down for about two days next week so as to be able to distribute foodstuff as palliatives to the residents of the state in an effort by the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde to lighten the hardship being experienced on account of the fallouts of Corona Virus (Covid-19).
This was disclosed by Alhaji Bayo Lawal, the state Commissioner for Special Duties, in a telephone conversation on a live radio programme in Ibadan.
According to the information in the public domain at the moment, over N200,000,000 has been donated by philanthropists to support the state government in its struggle against Covid-19.
The commissioner stated that the foodstuff ranging from rice, beans, yam flour and gari would be distributed to the residents of the state whom the government had categorized as the “poorest of the poor” selected from diverse population groups as the unemployed, widows and widowers, adding that 450,000 kgs of each of the staple food would be distributed to 120,000 households across the state as against the federal government’s relief intervention of 1,800 bags earmarked for Oyo State, “which are yet to be delivered”.
He spoke further that some other select groups, including those on the essential frontline duties in the fight against the pandemic, would also benefit from the food intervention programme.
Alhaji Lawal said the data about who to benefit from the relief package had been collated, adding that the statistics to be used for distribution were put together by the ad hoc committee set up by the state government for that purpose whose report had been submitted forthwith.
He said the ad hoc committee comprised members of different groups selected across the state to represent diverse opinion groups.
To have a hitch-free distribution devoid of partisan politics, Alhaji Lawal said the distribution would pass through the seven geopolitical zones, local governments, then to the wards, which would be handled by the committee consisting of and representing the members of Community Development Committees (CDCs), community and religious leaders, women representatives, among others.
The commissioner submitted that the distribution would be done within two days as 15 kilogram of the food intervention would be given to each household comprising six family members, while targeting more than 1,000,000 people.
