Oyo state government has disclosed that arrangements have been concluded for distribution of food palliatives to residents of the state tagged ‘poorest of the poor’.
This was made known to Governor’s Office Correspondents by the Commissioners for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, Budget and Planning, Professor Babatunde Musibaudeen, and Women Affairs, Mrs Toyin Balogun at a press briefing on Tuesday shortly after the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting held at the Governor’s Exco Chamber.
Governor Seyi Makinde will flag off the food palliative distribution in Oyo on Wednesday while his Deputy, Barrister Bayo Lawal and Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly carry out same exercise at Saki area of Oke-ogun and Eruwa part of Ibarapa simultaneously.
The food palliatives according to the Commissioner include among other items 10kg bag of rice and 5kg bag of beans which would be give to each vulnerable households.
200,000 poorest of the poor household according to the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Professor Babatunde Musibaudeen would benefit from the palliatives distribution.
The Budget Commissioner noted that the 200,000 household by multiplier effect translates to about one million residents of the state expected to benefit from the exercise.
According to Professor Musibaudeen, the palliative budgetary framework comprise various segments including food, food security (agropreneurs), transportation, security apparatus among others.
The total cost budgeted for the state palliatives is N8.63 billion and of the total cost, the state government shoulders N5.9 billion cost while the local government shoulders N2.6 billion.
Asked about the data relied upon for onward distribution of the palliatives to the poorest of the poor, the Commissioners for Information and Budget in their separate responses said data generated from Covid-19 has so far proved to be most reliable and would be used as a baseline template subject to future reviews after feedback received from the phase one of the exercise.
