On Tuesday, August 22, 2023, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta state announced a palliative program for the people of the state. In the speech delivered during the swearing in of members of the state executive council, Governor Oborevwori said he would be paying N10,000 monthly for three months to civil and public servants in the state. The total payment for the three months amounts to N1.505bn. He said the payment would begin from August and end in October.
He also said workers would work on shift. Except those on essential service like doctors, media personnel and others, a group would work from Monday to Wednesday, another set would work from Thursday to Friday. The pattern would reverse in the succeeding work to create space for equity. He promised purchasing electric vehicles for public transportation to reduce the cost of fuel for transport.
He told the crowd that gathered at the event centre where the swearing in ceremony held that he had set up a committee to work palliative plan for widows, vulnerable households, people living with disability and the aged. He told the people that the secretary to the state government, Kingsley Emu, would head the committee for this all-important project
However, there are certain things the governor did not mention to the people. Last week, the governor of Borno state, Babagana Zulum, told state house correspondents in Abuja, after a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima, that the federal government has approved N5bn and five trucks of rice for each of the 36 states and Abuja, the federal capital territory. But scanning through the palliative programme of the state governor, Elder Oborevwori did not mention any palliative funds or rice whether received or yet to be received from the federal government.
Now, what happens to the N5bn and five trucks of rice approved by the federal government for each state? Yes, the governor has set up a committee to work on palliatives for vulnerable people but the governor never mentioned any palliative from the federal government. Governor Oborevwor’s speech indicates that the palliative programme he spoke about is an initiative of the Delta state government without the input of the federal government. Is it that the President Tinubu’s palliative support did not get to Delta state? Or was Delta sidelined because it is a PDP state? This cannot be true as stated of opposition parties have announced reception of the federal government palliatives.
In Abia state, a Labour Party state, the state government has started distributing the federal government palliatives to the people. The distribution started on Wednesday, the 23rd day of August 2023.
In a statement by Abia state deputy governor, Mr. Chinedu Ekeke, as published by Tribune on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, the deputy governor said: “Yes, Abia state has received the five truckloads of rice. At 600 bags per truckload, this amounts to 3000 50kg bags of rice. These 3000 bags of rice have not been shared yet, but we are working on how to distribute them to ensure that they get to the target members of society and our most vulnerable ones. Be sure it will be handled transparently.
“Of the N5billion promised by the federal government, I can confirm that we have received two billion naira on Thursday, August 17. We are still expecting the balance. We will use the entire money for the purpose intended. We may, however, have to find out from our people if they particularly want the items that were mentioned by the Federal Government or if we can adjust the list accordingly.
“For instance, if our people prefer beans to maize which is not so much a staple food in Abia, we may have to get for our people bags of rice, beans, and fertilizers instead of rice, maize, and fertilizers. In making the decision, we will be guided by what our people want.”
Addressing newsmen later, Ekeke explained that the rice came in five truckloads of 600 bags each and is still expecting the fertilizers and maize, and also still expecting the balance of the fund of N3bn.
In Anambra, an APGA state, there are reports indicating that the federal government N5bn has been received by the state government. According to Chinedu Obigwe, the national coordinator of APGA media, “Anambra’s share of the N5 billion subsidy palliative is in a safe hand and will definitely be used to cushion the effects of the hard-biting subsidy removal.” This was published in the Punch Newspaper on August 22, 2023.
In Plateau state, the state governor, Caleb Mutfwang, told the state that Plateau had received the federal government’s N5bn palliative. According to Tribune on August 21, 2023 the governor said the N5bn was giving to provide succor to the poorest of the poor and to mitigate the hardship in the country. He noted that Plateau state has so far received the sum of N2 billion of the total amount.
“The federal government allocated N5billion in palliatives to each state of the federation; the money was given to every state for the purpose of giving palliatives to the poorest of the poor. We have so far received N2 billion.
“We were allocated 3,000 bags of rice for the whole state. We were mandated to use N1billion of the N5billion to buy rice locally. The intention of the federal government is that the N1billion should not be given to one contractor; we must share it around so that money can circulate in the local economy.
“And I like to pledge and give you my pledge of honor that not a single kobo of this N5 billion will be misused. Already, we have shared the rice with various local governments, and this will be further distributed.”
In Kwara state, the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, announced that the state has received N2bn out of the N5bn. This is as published by BusinessDay Newspaper on August 20, 2023. All these are indications that the federal government’s palliatives have been received by states across the federation. But some state governors have not disclosed this to their people.
While some governors are yet to publicly confirm the receipt of the palliative fund, some concerned citizens fear that some will not disclose receipt of the funds and the rice because of their lack of transparency.
Others also fear that governors in some states where the INEC would be conducting off-season elections or states where there are fears of re-run because of cases in tribunals may likely not disclose the receipt of the fund due to alleged plans to use it to execute the elections.
