Ekiti State Government has approved the immediate purchase and distribution of N331 million food items to the needy in the 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 22 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the State as part of Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s recently announced economic relief programme.
The State Government also approved the payment of outstanding furniture allowance of political office holders who served between 2022 and 2023 in recognition of their contribution to the development of their LGAs and to also cushion the effect of hardship in the country.
Benefiting political office holders include Vice Chairmen, Secretaries, Councilors, Supervisors and Special Advisers.
The State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Mr. Folorunso Olabode who made this known in Ado Ekiti, explained that the development was part of Government’s efforts to cushion the effect of the prevailing global economic hardship and the consequence of the removal of the fuel subsidy amongst others.
Stressing that each ward would receive 25 bags of rice, Mr. Olabode assured that the distribution would be without bias to political affiliation or influence, adding that the entire process would be handled in collaboration with the Community Development Associations (CDAs) in each local government area in order to have real impact on the people.
He said that the move is also expected to curb the rising cost of food and serve as palliative for the communities at the grassroots.
The Commissioner advised Local Governments to encourage people, particularly the youths in their areas to engage in Agriculture, emphasizing the need to take advantage provided by the State Government through the Ministry of Agriculture to move farmers in the State from subsistence farming to real agribusiness.
According to him, the Biodun Oyebanji administration has provided farm equipment at highly subsidized prices to young farmers, adding that Farm machinery such as ploughs, ridgers, tractors, cultivators, are offered at extremely low prices to encourage young people to get involved in agriculture and help avoid food shortage.
In another development, The State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Mr. Folorunso Olabode unveiled a new set of the State Executives Council of the State Chapter of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON).
The new Executive Council is made up of Hon. Olusegun Samuel Ojo (Ekiti East LG Chairman) as Chairman, Hon Segun Ezekiel (Efon LG Chairman) as the Vice Chairman, Hon Bukola Olowolaju (Igbaraodo/Ogotun LCDA Chairman) as the Secretary and Hon Felicia Ibiloye (Ero LCDA Chairman) as the PRO
Olabode stressed that the new Executive members were selected based on merit using their experiences, past achievements and commitment as yardstick.
Urging the new Exco to brace for the new responsibility, Olabode prayed that God would give them wisdom and understanding to direct the affairs successfully.
He assured of the Oyebanji administration continued commitment to the welfare, wellbeing and wellness of the people at the grassroots and the State generally.
In his acceptance speech, the new State ALGON Chairman, Hon. Olusegun Ojo expressed gratitude to the Governor Oyebanji for the recognition accorded him.
He therefore promised on behalf of other Exco members to live up to expectation and justify the confidence reposed in them.