Palliatives: APC youths vow to monitor distribution in Anambra

---

---

By Madu Obi

The Anambra State chapter of the South East APC Young Progressives Forum has vowed that its members would monitor every aspect of the distribution of the federal government's palliatives meant for the state very closely to ensure that they reached the targeted population.

National coordinator of the group, Comrade Paschal Candle, at a news conference in Awka, said they would also follow the processes leading to the creation of a social register for vulnerable people in Anambra State to ensure its credibility.

According to the group, a situation where only members of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, or cronies of the state government would populate the social register, would be resisted.

Candle said: "Any sharp practices we notice in the course of these activities will be taken up and escalated to the highest level possible for appropriate actions.

"The N5 billion for each state provided by the federal government must be used to purchase the items that were agreed upon by the National Economic Council, NEC, in their meeting.

"We insist that the government of Anambra State must not divert a single kobo to other ventures, no matter how good it may be. The N5 billion is meant to be used for immediate food palliatives and must be used for such.

"We are all aware from the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Thursday, that the federal government had already released five trucks of rice to all states and that the N5 billion was approved by Mr. President for disbursement to the states to enable each of them to procure additional 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize and fertiliser to be distributed to the most vulnerable across their various states.

"We cannot fathom the reason why Governor Soludo is finding it difficult to announce the arrival of the federal government palliatives to the state and also why it has been pretty difficult to distribute same or constitute a committee that will take charge of the distribution.

"Is Governor Soludo waiting for the people of the state to die of hunger before he deems it fit to make the palliatives available to serve its purpose at the right time?

"We are therefore calling on the governor, who was present at the NEC meeting and at the press briefing thereafter to, as a matter of urgency, inform the people of Anambra State about the status of the five trucks of rice that were released by the federal government to Anambra State for distribution to vulnerable households.

This is for the sake of transparency and accountability. "All genuine stakeholders in the Anambra State project should plead with the governor to release the rice palliatives sent to the state by the federal government for these items to get to the needy on time as the purpose for sending it down is not to be locked up in a hidden warehouse in the state, as they did during Covid-19 era.

"The diversion of the rice palliatives by the state government as it is being touted by some concerned discerning minds in the state, would have a debilitating effect on the image of the reigning state government.

"Again, if the news spreading like a wild fire across the state that Governor Soludo is trying to play a fast one on the palliatives from Abuja by sharing it to APGA members or supporters of APGA or to allow only APGA members to be in charge as they did during Governor Obiano era, we shall resist it by all legal means.

"We have credible information that the state government is planning to write 'SOLUTION IS HERE' on those palliatives. This game plan will fail because they are trying to deceive the people into believing that he is the one providing those palliatives, when in actual fact,it is President Bola Tinubu and APC programme."

Candle also demanded that an accurate social register must be created for the disbursement of the $800 million World Bank loan cash transfer to the most vulnerable in the society.

"Governor Soludo should set up another implementation committee that will be representative of all important stakeholders, such as traditional rulers, political parties' representatives, the three major religious denominations in the state, as well as the World Bank representatives, who will work hand in hand with the team from Abuja in order to provide a transparent register", he said.