Osun State Government has been advised to immediately distribute the latest tranche of COVID-19 Palliatives received from CACOVID to avoid a repeat of what happened to the previous ones.
InsightMedia has reported that the State Government was through a letter by CACOVID informed of the availability of 13 trucks of rice meant for the people of the State.
The rice, which is about 40,322, is the remaining part of the COVID-19 Palliatives earlier sent to the state and looted during the EndSARS protests.
Speaking the our Correspondent, the Convener Dialogue 365, Comrade Waheed Saka urged the government to shun ceremony and get the materials distributed to the residents of the state. He warned that state against hoarding of the items.
Saka said, “No ceremony, no press camera, just distribution without further delay or political paparazzi. The people are hungry and angry and we can not afford to unconsciously creating a mass revolt of our people.
“Let me also appreciate the full disclosure of the palliative received , it is a starting point for accountability and building trust with the people.
“The government must continue to be seen as transparent and accountable, never again will our state and by extension our region experience such a looting.”
Also speaking with our Correspondent, a public affairs analyst, Rasheed Adebiyi corroborated the stand of Saka. He said the distribution should commence immediately to avoid ugly experience recorded in October. He said the suffering in the land is extreme and government must waste no avenue to alleviate it.
He said, “I would advise that the state government should commence the immediate distribution of the palliative.
“I hope that by now, the government would have concluded all the bureaucracy involved in the handing over of the rice component so that onward distribution could commence. There is extreme suffering in the land and the government has to be responsive in alleviating the suffering
In his own reaction, a member of the opposition People’s Democratic Party, Oladele Bamiji called on the state government to put fear of God first and welfare of the citizens to follow. He said the government is not expected to delay the items for more than 48 hours before dustributiing them.
” The state Government should allow fear of God and welfare of citizens to supercede any other considerations in handling humanitarian matters as this. Under normal circumstances, such consignment should not tarry more than 48hours in any store house before it is distributed to intended beneficiaries. There’s no doubt our people have suffered a lot of economic deprivation owning to the unusual global pandemic and it will be ungodly for government at whatever level to hoard the palliative items meant to cushion the adverse effects of the pandemic on indigenous households who make up the state.
“It must be noted that, people are now delicately wired against government acts of wickedness as encapsulated in the way and manner the last tranche of the palliatives were handled. It will therefore be foolhardy and suicidal for the state government to foot drag, for whatever reasons in distributing this consignment to the people. Government must also avoid any form of discrimination in the distribution formula because the Cacovid Committee never envisioned any political or race discrimination in the delivery memo which is in the public.
“To avoid another round of chaos as witnessed last time, the state government should ensure fairness and conscientious justice in distributing the food items.”
