President Bola Tinubu has asked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to assist in the rapid release and distribution of grains and palliatives to residents in order to alleviate the effects of the economic crisis.
Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, Minister of State for the FCT, announced this on Wednesday during an emergency meeting with stakeholders and chairmen of the FCT’s six area councils.
She stated that the direction came in the form of a letter from the Tnubu to the FCT minister via the National Emergency Management Authority and that a committee will be formed within the next two weeks to carry out the mandate.
On Sunday, some FCT residents raided a warehouse in Abuja’s Gwagwa-Tasha district that belonged to the FCT Administration’s Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, looting food and vandalising the property.
Mahmoud went on to say that Tinubu’s letter was issued on February 29, 2024, leaving them with only a week to carry out the directive and guarantee that the palliatives were distributed properly.
“Everybody knows how His Excellency, Mr. President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been going up and down to see how he will cushion the effect of the hardship in the country, especially the issue of food security. They have been having meetings through the Ministry of Agriculture, and finally, we were able to get a lot that we have to distribute for our people, to tell us how Mr. President Tinubu has his people in his heart.
“So it was along this way that the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, was addressed through this letter to call an important meeting with important stakeholders that were highlighted, most of whom are here, to see how we arrange some committees for transparency of the distribution of these palliatives that we are about to get and then the preparation that we need to have before these items are given to FCT for distribution,” she said.
She named the following committee members: chairmen of area councils, FCT Emergency Management Agency, traditional rulers, the Department of State Service, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, faith-based organisations, the National Union of Local Government Employees, the Nigeria Red Cross Society, women associations, persons with disabilities groups, youth associations, principals of boarding schools, civil society organisations, and the media.
