The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq, has handed over palliatives to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Mohammed Musa Bello, for onward distribution to the vulnerable and the poorest of the poor in the FCT.
The palliatives include ten trucks of rice, 2 trucks of vegetable oil and grains from the national reserve.
Donating the items, Wednesday, at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Kubwa, Abuja, Farouq said that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed that the palliatives be distributed to the vulnerable and poorest of the poor in FCT, in order to ameliorate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said, “In view of the hardships citizens face, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, has directed my Ministry to distribute palliatives to states experiencing lockdown, like Ogun, Lagos and the FCT. Today, I present some relief materials to the FCTA and implore the Minister to consider especially, the poor and vulnerable, including persons living with disabilities, to cushion the effects of the economic crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a very sensitive period in the history of our country and the world. However, as we work together to confront the COVID-19 pandemic, I am hopeful we will prevail and leverage the crisis to build our great nation. However, due to logistics issues, some of the palliatives are still on the way, but the FCTA will be notified to claim them once they arrive.”
Accepting the donations, FCT Minister, Mallam Musa Bello, expressed gratitude to President Buhari for remembering the plight of FCT residents at this period and promised that the palliatives will get to the intended beneficiaries.
“I am grateful to President Buhari. I appealed to the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs for more palliatives, because we have many poor and vulnerable people in the FCT, and she didn’t hesitate to grant my request. With the help of the FCT minister of State, the palliatives will get to the beneficiaries like we did in Abaji,” he said.
