In his bid to tackle poverty and improve the standard of living of the people, Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto state has begun the distribution of palliatives including food items, farm inputs, mobility aids for people living with disabilities, motorcycles and tricycles, across the 23 local government areas of the state.
Disclosing this at a press conference while giving a breakdown of the 202 budget estimate of N526 billion presented by the governor to the State House of Assembly recently, Commissioner for Information and Orientation in the state, Alhaji Hon. Sambo Bello Danchadi, said over 168,000 bags of rice will be distributed to people of the state at subsidised rates.
He said the state government spent about N14.4 billion on the welfare package meant to cushion the harsh effects of the nation’s economy on the people.
According to him, the welfare package will be distributed to the people in all 244 wards in the state adding that a 50kg bag of rice will be made available at N38,700.
“The Government has commenced the distribution of palliatives to people across the 23 local government areas of the state, through the purchase of 280 trucks of rice containing 168,000 bags, at the cost of ₦14.4 billion, which is currently being sold at subsidized prices across the 244 wards of the state.
“For emphasis, my Dear brothers, the Sokoto State Government is selling a 50 kg bag of rice at N38,700.
“These achievements demonstrate our administration’s commitment to delivering quality services and driving economic growth and development in Sokoto State. We look forward to building on these successes in the coming year,” he said.
Commenting on the efforts of the state governor to boost agriculture in the state, Hon. Damchidi stated that some 7000 hectares of land in 17 communities of the state have been prepared for the cultivation of moringa oleifera, which market value, he said, was huge.
“The state government has also established 7000 hectares of moringa oleifera agroforestry in 17 communities of Wurno and Gwadabawa LGAs in addition to rehabilitation of degraded lands of about 1200 hectares at Saturu forest in Dange/Shuni LGA,” he said.
The commissioner also disclosed that the state government had ensured that distribution of pesticides and fertilizers to encourage dry season farming.
“For the first time in history, the Sokoto State Government has distributed fertilizer, pesticides, and farm inputs free of charge to farmers. This is aimed at supporting food production in the state.
“Our poverty reduction efforts have also yielded positive results, with thousands of youths trained in various skills while livelihood grants have been provided to economically active households. We have also provided social cash transfers to the poor and vulnerable in our society,” he noted.
According to him “the government of Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto has restored the payment of monthly allowances to people with disability, which was discontinued by the previous administration. Governor Ahmed Aliyu has not only restored the monthly stipend, but has increased the allowances from ₦6,500 to ₦10,000.
“The state government is also committed to increasing the number of the benefitting disabled persons from the present 6,679 to 10,000 beneficiaries in the coming year.
“In fulfillment of a promise he made earlier in the year, the Governor has also supplied 500 hand cycles to be distributed to people living with disability across 23 LGAs of the state. He has also announced that another consignment of 500 hand cycles will soon be delivered. This is in addition to fashioning a Special training program for people living with disability in the year 2025, as well as carrying out a comprehensive repositioning of the Adisa Raji Special School.
“On youth empowerment, the state government has trained the youth in various skills such as tailoring, computer repairs and installation, vulcanizing etc., and provided them with working tools and cash assistance.
Also, 10,000 youth were trained on digital and technical skills. All these efforts by the state government are aimed at making our teeming youths in the state more productive and self-reliant members of our society.
“In similar vein, the state government purchased 500 tricycles and 1000 motorcycles to be distributed to our teeming unemployed youth. Each of the motorcycles was purchased by the government at the cost of N1,275,200 and will be sold to the beneficiary at the cost of N300,000 only while the tricycles which are of two category i.e electricity and fuel powered, will be sold at N1,500,000 and N1,000,000 respectively against the purchasing cost of N5,800,000 and N3,500,000 by the government,” he stated.
