The Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has issued a stern warning against the diversion of palliatives given by the Federal Government to states to mitigate the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.
Governor Mohammed gave the admonition at the flag off of distribution of palliatives in the state at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Memorial Stadium, Bauchi, at the weekend, where part of 89,000 25kg bags of rice were shared among Persons Living with Disabilities.
He said, “We will not spare anyone that becomes a clog in the wheel of progress in our efforts to bring succour to the people.”
Mohammed, who is also a member of the committee set up by the National Economic Council to draw the roadmap for the roll-out of Federal Government palliatives, explained that part of the interventions includes the provision of five trailer loads of rice as well as N5 million to each state in either cash or grains.
He further said that the palliatives comprise a grant of 52 percent with the remaining 48 percent as loan payable over 20 months to support states to provide additional palliatives.
Mohammed added that the sum of N2 billion has so far been released by the Federal Government while arrangements are being made to access the remaining money in addition to more grants from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
It was gathered that the flag-off exercise includes the distribution of 89,000 bags of rice to the 20 Local Government Areas in the state, payment of N10,000 each to the most vulnerable citizens, provision of mass transportation buses, and payment of student scholarships.
It also includes payment of outstanding gratuities and leave grants to retired and active civil servants as well as payment of special allowances to volunteer health workers, casual workers and environmental sanitation agents.
Remarking, the State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Hajara Yakubu Wanka, assured that necessary measures have been put in place to ensure that palliative gets to all the vulnerable groups
