Coronavirus: Ogun residents lament ‘scanty’ COVID-19 relief packages sent to them by Gov. Abiodun [VIDEO]

Ogun State indigenes have taken to the social media to call out Governor Dapo Abiodun, accusing him of allegedly donating two packs of food items to about 75 houses in each community in the state.

Gov Abiodun had promised to donate relief packages to 500,000 households in the state to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on them.

The distribution of the items, Ottagistreel learnt, started on Saturday, with diverse reactions from residents of the Gateway State.

On Sunday, residents of some communities like Ibara Housing Estate were said to have engaged in a brawl over the limited food items sent to them

But, in his reaction, Gov Abiodun said the packages were mainly for the poor and the vulnerable, hence his insistence on direct distribution to the intended beneficiaries.

In a statement made available to Ottagistreel on Sunday, the Chief Press Secretary to Gov Abiodun, Kunle Somorin, said “that the government’s attention has been drawn to some video clips circulating on the social media, purportedly showing some scanty items being distributed to Community Development Councils/Associations for onward distribution to their members. These video clips are not only mischievous but are deliberate concoctions and distortions to play dirty politics at a time of a grave global crisis.”

Somorin clarified that, “For avoidance of doubt, the Ogun State Government relief food pack contains the following seven items: 5kg of rice, 5kg of beans, 5kg of gari, salt, seasoning cubes, 4 Nos. vegetable oil sachets, and 5 Nos. puree sachets. The pack is branded with Ogun State Logo for ease of identification. A pack is meant for ONE household NOT for a street or CDA.”

According to him, 500,000 poor and vulnerable households are targeted in all, covering an estimated three million poor and vulnerable individuals in the state.

He said that the distribution has started with the first batch of 100,000 households across the 20 Local Governments in the state on a ward by ward basis, in phases of 250-300 households per ward.

The statement reads inter alia:

“Indeed, a major reason informing the initial total lockdown of the state from Friday till Tuesday morning is to allow our citizens to also go out for a few hours to buy food, earn a bit of a living, ventilate and supplement the government’s palliative initiative. We have NOT locked the state down for 14 days at a stretch.

“The truth is that the state government alone cannot meet the needs of every household in Ogun State.

“To ensure that the items get to the target beneficiaries (the poor and the vulnerable), the government set up a broad-based non-partisan committee at each local government level comprising of critical stakeholders such as Community Development Councils / Associations, League of Imams and Alfas, Christian Association of Nigeria, Market Women Association, political office holders and top civil servants from the local government, among others. The committee, which is chaired by the Local Government Chairman, is replicated in each of the 236 wards in the state to ensure the materials get to the grassroots.

“I call on the members of the public to disregard the video clips with thinly veiled mischief, deliberate misinformation and innuendos. Those who want to play politics with everything and in all situations should at least wait until the pandemic is over.

“This is the time for all people of goodwill to join hands to defeat a common enemy. Our Administration is irrevocably committed to the welfare of all citizens of Ogun State and will neither be distracted nor deterred by anyone or group”, Governor Abiodun said.

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