The federal government has donated 19 truckloads of rice to Kano State as part of measures to reduce hunger.
Maryam Shettima, a member of the committee set up by the government to oversee distribution to residents of the state, revealed this in an interview with Arise Television on Monday.
“There are 19 trucks being sent to Kano, I am not sure how many trucks have been sent to other states, but this is just the beginning. So imagine if 19 trucks of rice are sent to Kano, how many more will be needed to send to all 36 states in the nation?” she said.
Ms Shettima, who was dropped from Tinubu's ministerial list just before the Senate selection last year, assured that with the modalities already put in place by the committee, the palliatives would reach poor households and vulnerable residents of the state.
“The methods that are being implemented are quite incredible and I believe that over time this will be applied to other areas of the country because it is quite transparent, feasible and honest.
“There are no better steps to be taken to ensure that this rice actually reaches the people who need it in every corner of Kano State, in every corner of the North West and throughout Nigeria,” he said.
He did not say anything about the size of the rice bags, which could be 10kg, 25kg or 50kg.
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Senate Deputy President Barau Jibrin had recently expressed concern over the alleged diversion of palliatives meant for poor households in Kano State for personal use.
Mr Jibirin, who represents Kano North Senatorial District, chaired the committee on distribution of federal government palliative funds in the state. Two other senators from the state, Kawu Sumaila (Kano South) and Rufai Hanga (Kano Central), were members of the committee.
Without detours or favoritism
Responding to concerns over possible diversion of rice sent to the state, Ms. Shettima assured that the committee members would be fair in distribution.
He said there would be no cases of favoritism or nepotism in the distribution, regardless of political parties.
“If you look at the composition of the members of this committee, you can see that the government takes the situation of the poor very seriously. It cares about them and is committed to ensuring that these palliatives reach the citizens for whom they are intended.
“The most interesting thing is that when we talk about the composition of the committee, this transcends party lines, it is independent of anyone's party affiliation, so there is no favoritism, there is no nepotism.
“It is not just the Deputy Senate President who is an APC member, but there is also Senator Kawu Sumaila who is an NNPP Senator on that committee, and there is another Senator from Kano Central, Senator Rufai Sanni Hanga who is also an NNPP member, and also several members of the House of Representatives. Nothing fosters transparency more than being inclusive and involving everyone,” he said.
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More rice
Ms Shettima said more bags of rice would be distributed to residents in the coming days.
“This government is concerned exclusively with the situation of the most vulnerable and is doing everything possible to address these issues. This is the second time this has been done and it is only the beginning. There will be more initiatives as time goes on,” he promised.