By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
A total of 210,000 households will receive palliative packaged for residents to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal in Kaduna State.
Governor Sani Uba, according to a statement on Wednesday by his media aide, Shehu Lawal, made this known at a press briefing in Government House, Kaduna.
The Governor said the intervention has become necessary to cushion the effects of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
He revealed that a total of N2 billion has been released to the Kaduna State Government by the Federal Government for that purpose.
He stated that a stakeholders meeting comprising government officials, representatives of trade unions, persons living with disabilities, market and transport unions, and the private sector, amongst others has been called to ensure judicious use of the funds.
The Governor added that he had approved the three phases of the recommendations made by the meeting.
“The First Phase (Short Term) will be devoted to distribution of food items to households,” he stated.
He explained that the distribution of the 43,000 bags of 50kg rice palliatives will benefit 210,000 households, with special consideration given to people living with disabilities, widows and the elderly.
He added that other poor and vulnerable households, orphanages and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, will also be given special attention.
The governor further disclosed that a committee headed by local government chairmen with the responsibility to plan and distribute the palliatives at the council level will be constituted.
The committee will have local government officials, organised labour, representatives of the private sector, faith-based organisations, youth and women organisations as members.
He further explained that the distribution of the food items would be proportionate to the size of the population in each local government area.
Governor Sani assured that a monitoring committee will also be constituted for each LGA to guarantee transparency in the conduct of the exercise and to ensure that the intended beneficiaries are reached.
The governor added buses will be purchased by the state government in the second phase of the intervention towards the introduction of subsidised road transportation on major routes with high number of commuters within Kaduna metropolis, Zaria and Kafanchan.
He said fertilizers will also be procured and distributed to small-holder farmers across state, while financial support will be extended to micro, small and medium businesses through the Kaduna Markets Development and Management Company (KMDMC) and Kaduna Enterprise Development Agency (KADEDA).
In the third phase, Governor Sani explained that his administration is making efforts to resuscitate the locomotive train from Zaria to Kaduna, and from Sabon Tasha to Kafanchan in a bid to provide citizens with affordable means of transportation.
He called on the citizens to give maximun support and cooperation to the implementation committee to ensure a seamless exercise.
The governor however warned that the full weight of the law will be visited on anyone who attempts to divert the palliatives meant for the people or tries to disrupt the exercise.