The Federal Government through the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, yesterday, handed over 30,008 bags of food items consisting of 24,180 bags of 50kg maize and 5, 828 bags of 25kg of Garri to Akwa Ibom Government for distribution to beneficiaries in the state.
Handing over the items to Dr. Offiong Offor, state Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Director General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, explained that the gesture was in fulfilment of President Bola Tinubu's promise to reduce the impact of current economic down-turn on the poor masses of the country.
The DG who was represented by Mrs. Mmandu Aisueni, state Head of Operations of NEMA in Akwa Ibom State, explained that the commodities should be shared in the communities through constituted committees in each council.
She directed that membership of the committee in each council should be made up of the Chairman of the council, state Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and a traditional ruler, among others.
According to her, "Twenty percent of the food items due for each LGA should be given to religious organisations (Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN and the Jama'atu Nasril Islam, JNI) and three percent should be given to boarding schools in the council. Each council should receive equal items.
"Mr President approved the release of 42, 000MT of assorted food commodities from the National Strategic Reserve under the custody of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. The assorted food commodities include maize, millet, sorghum, and garri.
"After sharing the commodities and successfully transporting the quantities allocated to Akwa Ibom State, today, we are here to hand over the food items to the state government for distribution to the deserving beneficiaries in the communities through the constituted committees in each LGA.
"It is worthy of note that based on the allocation table, Akwa Ibom State has been allocated 1, 209 MT of maize (24,180 bags of 50kg) 145.1 MT of garri (5, 828 bags of 25kg),"
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Receiving the food items, Dr. Offor, who received the commodities thanked the President for his intervention efforts towards the plight of the vulnerable groups in the country.
She commended Tinubu for continuously providing staple foods to the vulnerable to mitigate the impact of high cost of foodstuffs in the country through his renewed hope agenda, adding, "Akwa Ibom State government will ensure that the food items get to the appropriate beneficiaries."
