Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, had admonished the state’s residents to embrace agriculture instead of the expectations placed on the federal government’s N5 billion palliative to the state.
The governor said to those expecting miracles from the federal government’s palliative to cushion the removal of the fuel subsidy; there isn’t such, so he advised them to utilize whatever they have got judiciously and embrace agriculture.
Yahaya, who doubles as Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, made this disclosure on Wednesday at the grand finale of the distribution of palliatives at the Gombe Emir’s palace ground.
Naija News gathered that some items distributed include five kg of rice, two bags of fertiliser and two litres of pesticides, carton of macaroni or spaghetti.
The governor had inaugurated a distribution committee headed by the chairman of Gombe State Emergency Management Agency last week to handle the distribution of the palliative grains.
He has toured around the nine LGAs sharing palliatives across households and polling units.
At the grand finale, Yahaya said, “We have been going around distributing across the 11 Local Government Areas. This is just a step in anticipation of what the Federal Government will give in order to provide palliative as a result of the injuries inflicted on people because of subsidy removal because there is a dislocation in the country and there are problems most of which didn’t start even now but we have to address now
“That is why I’m emphasising that people that got these must go and use it well, especially if you have a farm you can use the two fertiliser bags to ensure there is productivity on your farm.
“For those anticipating that as a result of the N5b that the Federal Government is giving to the states that there will be a miracle at this N2b only hit the account of Gombe State Government and we have N2b worth of rice according to the palliative committee that we can buy as the next money is disbursed to us and grains, especially maize that we received from Central Bank that is worth N1b
“I have my doubt as to whether the Federal Government through CBN or through any of its agencies, has that much in the reserve. For instance, the grain silos in Gombe, owned by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, have been leased to a private company meaning the 25,000 tons that should have been strategic grain reserve is already out of the control of the government in the private hands.
“If you give N3b and ask that we go to the market and buy directly from the market, it will add more inflation, and the prices will go up again, and the problem will persist.
“We shall carefully look at how best to utilise our own money and ensure it gets to the correct set of people. The deputy governor will take charge of ensuring we implement the Federal Government palliatives so that it gets to the right persons.
“We have given out a palliative package. I’m not happy that we are sharing palliatives. I would prefer we teach people to go back to the farm so that they can produce what they eat, that is what government should do instead of sharing palliatives because we are in a situation we caused ourselves
“We backtrack, think twice, and do the needful, and inshallah, I promise that I will give that effective leadership required so that together we can move forward.”
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