Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo on Thursday said “all is now set for the flag-off of the first quarterly food palliative and cash support for the people of Kogi State,” adding that “grains and cash for logistics are in place, while the details of the modalities for distribution are being worked out by the administration right now in Lokoja.”
The governor, who spoke at a crucial emergency meeting of the Nigerian Governors Forum with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa to deliberate on matters of urgent national importance, assured that in a couple of days, the Kogi State Government shall commence the distribution of grains and cash support to all households across the 239 wards in the State.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Ismaila Isah, quoted the governor as saying that the move is in tandem with the commitment of the Federal Government to address food crisis in the country, saying: “This is in line with our campaign promise to key into the policies and programmes of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Ododo assured that “there will be hitch-free distribution of the intervention throughout the state.”
He called for the active involvement of community leaders, religious leaders and other stakeholders in the smooth distribution of the palliatives.
Ododo explained that his administration is working on long term measures for agricultural development in areas of livestock and crop production to guarantee food security in Kogi State through a mix of commercial and subsistence farming in all parts of the state.
Governor Ododo, who was attending the meeting of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum for the first time in his capacity as the Executive Governor of Kogi State, expressed support for the agenda of Mr. President to tackle the prevailing food crisis and insecurity in the country.
The Governor promised to address the problem of food security and economic downturn frontally by embarking on quarterly food palliatives and cash incentives for every household in the state.
The meeting which is at the instance of President Tinubu along with Vice President Kashim Shettima and Governors of the 36 states of the federation agreed on modalities to tackle the current economic crisis being faced by the citizens and how to deal with insecurity in the country.
The President restated his commitment to work with the Governors for the wellbeing of Nigerian families and urged the Governors to redouble their efforts in tackling the problem of food shortages and insecurity across the country.
