Oyo State Governor Engineer Seyi Makinde has flagged off the distribution of the palliatives to cushion the effect of economic hardships on the people of the state as a result of fuel subsidy removal.
The Governor flagged off the distribution of the food items to state households during a special event held at the Oba Lamidi Adeyemo III Mini Stadium, Oyo town on Wednesday.
In his address, Governor Makinde emphasized that the state government had come up with a robust palliative distribution system tagged Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAFER) that would attack the roots of the economic hardship rather that dealing with the symptoms.
While describing the present administration in the state as government that runs open policies with integrity, Governor Makinde hinted that the state bought 37,000 bags of Rice to complement the 3000 bags delivered by the Federal, to make a total of Forty Thousand bags to be distributed to 200,000 households in the state.
The governor also added that other food items that were bought locally, included 5kg bags of Gari, 5kg bags of beans, and 5kg bags of yam flower ( Elubo) would also be given to the people of the state.
Other palliative measures in the SAFER programme according to the governor were low-interest loan to small and micro businesses, enterprise support to the youth, under the Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP), provision of transportation subsidy, free healthcare to 5000 pensioners and 100 thousand households for a year through health insurance scheme amongst others.
Governor Makinde however maintained that the five billion Naira financial support gotten from the federal government is still intact and pledged that the state government would communicate what it would be expended later to the people of the state.
Earlier in her remarks the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Senator Monsurat Summonu, appreciated Governor Makinde for extending the needed dividends of democracy to the people of Oyo Zone.
The governor later embarked on symbolic presentation of the food items to some households in Oyo town.