Over two hundred and forty thousand vulnerable residents of Osun State has been fed in the State’s Food Support Scheme.
The state governor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola announced this while flagging off the 8th edition of the programme in Osogbo, the state capital.
Governor Oyetola added that the scheme had stimulated the economy of the state as the purchase of materials produced locally and food items had been tremendously enhanced the socio-economic activities.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Prince Wole Oyebamiji, the governor said the current administration was on course in its efforts to boost local food production, achieve food security and turn Osun State into the food basket of the Southwest.
He observed that despite the fact that food given might not last a family for a month, but it would go a long way to cushion the effect of hunger and augment what the beneficiaries were able to raise from their little effort and support of families.
The initiative, according to him, has impacted greatly the lives of the beneficiaries, particularly the vulnerable citizens ranging from the aged, the widows, people living with disabilities, youths, among others, with the multiplier effect on the status of the state’s economy.
In a remark, the Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties, Mr. Olalekan Badmus, said the government had designed the scheme in such a way that the food items got to the targeted beneficiaries through the efforts of the distribution committee.
Mr. Badmus said beneficiaries were drawn from the various nooks and crannies of the state using the World Bank-sponsored Social Register.
He said the state had injected about eight hundred million naira into her economy since the commencement of the programme in the last eight months, as one hundred million naira goes into the scheme monthly.
The commissioner who said the programme was being funded solely by the Osun State under the present administration stressed that the government was open to any kindhearted citizen that wants to support it.
One person with disability who benefited from the food support scheme, Mr. Lukman Ridwan told Radio Nigeria that the monthly food was a big relief for him and others beneficiaries in his category.
Similarly, Mrs. Maria Onaopepo from Ejemu village in Ifedayo Local Government Area appealed to Governor Oyetola to increase the number of beneficiaries.
Governor Oyetola had in April, this year, inaugurated the “Osun Food Support Scheme” to mitigate the adverse impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on 30,000 vulnerable citizens on a monthly basis.
Adenitan Akinola
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