In line with the measures put up by his administration under the Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery (SAfER), to mitigate the hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, the Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has kicked off the food relief component of SAfER.
The governor, who kicked off the distribution of the food relief packages at the Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III Mini-stadium, Oyo, said 200,000 households would benefit from the food relief support, adding that the government took its time to plan SAfER, which according to him is more than just a palliative.
He equally appreciated the residents of Oyo zone for standing by him during the March 18 governorship election, noting that the high margin of victory he recorded in the same was quite commendable.
As the governor kicked off the event in Oyo, the deputy governor of the state, Barrister Bayo Lawal, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Olanike Adeyemo and the Chief of Staff to the governor, kick-started the distribution of the food relief packages in Saki, Iseyin and Ogbomoso.
For the Ibadan Less City, the Deputy Speaker, Hon Abiodun Fadeyi, kicked off the distribution of the food packages, while the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr. Wasiu Olatubosun and his counterpart in the Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives Ministry, Honourable Ademola Ojo, kicked off the scheme for Ibadan Main City and Ibarapa zone, respectively.
According to Governor Makinde, the food relief packages are meant for the poorest of the poor in order to mitigate the effect of the economic hardship on them, stating that each package contained bag of 10kg rice, 5kg bag of beans, 5kg bag of yam flour and 1kg bottle of vegetable oil.
The governor added that the government is aware that all segments of the society have been affected by the subsidy removal, hence the design of different components of SAfER, which according to him, has taken into consideration other segments of the society.
He said: “What came to my mind as we flag off the food relief component of our SAfER programme is the song we were used to singing during the electioneering period. ‘Oro wa o gba ejo wewe, ki a sa maa dupe lo’to.’
“That is why while everyone is talking about palliatives, here in Oyo State, we are talking about Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery (SAfER). So, when they ask you if palliatives have been distributed in Oyo State, tell them the state is not going the way of palliative but SAfER.
“So, we are here to deliver your SAfER package. What palliative means is to treat the symptoms and leave the main cause. In Oyo State, we don’t want to treat the symptoms but attack the roots.
One thing about Sustainable Action is that it takes proper planning and strategy.
“Some people have been going round on the radio and social media asking about the 3,000 bags of rice the Federal Government gave to Oyo State. Others are saying that the Federal Government gave them N5bn and the money has been diverted. Some even said there is trust deficit between the government and the people but it is not like that here in Oyo State. Here, we run an open government and we tell the people exactly the way things are.
