Hardship: Clergy Warns Against Trivializing Gov. Eno’s Efforts At Ensuring Welfare of Poor Citizens

Against the backdrop of the recent criticism of alleged removal of eggs from the lists of food items to be procured massively by Akwa ibom state government for resale at a reasonable prices to Indigent persons, a Clergy of African church Revd Richard Peters has warned against trivializing the governor’s geninue determination to help the suffering citizens.

After accenting the bulk purchase bill agency recently, governor Umo Eno said yesterday that the food intervention programme will be flagged -off on Tuesday next week with the launching of the Bulk Purchase food vouchers at designated markets in the State, after which the agents would be unveiled to carry out the scheme in all parts of the State.

However, a popular online newspaper Premium Times had in its publication dated 18th March with headline “poor people don’t eat eggs, Nigerian governor rejects inclusion of eggs in subsidized food items” berated the state government for excluding eggs from the list of items earmarked for purchase

According to the online publication, “Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has rejected an appeal to include “eggs” among the food items that the state government will sell to vulnerable people at a subsidised rate saying eggs are not for poor people .

Reacting to the publication in a Press chat with Journalists on Wednesday in Uyo the state capital, Revd Richard Peters said the Governor Umo Eno has announced that under his food palliative programme through the Bulk Purchase Agency, the less privileged captured in the social register will now be given the food items free.

He maintained that the governor directed that his personal assistants from the wards, would be given the vouchers, and they will verify the names in the social register before giving out the voucher, after which the person redeem the food item from redemption centers.

According to him , ” The law that established that established bulk purchase agency captured staple food items such as rice, beans and garri which are food items enjoyed by many across households.

” Therefore, it is very wrong for someone to go to media space with stories of the governor rejecting inclusion of eggs among food to be subsidized. The caption of the story suggests that the governor hates the poor and thinks eggs are not for them.

The Clergy highlighted that the governor has shown significant commitment to the welfare and economic growth of the people.

He averred, “look at his intervention in rebuilding public schools meant for the people with the remodeling of the Christ the king primary school as the take of the projects billed to be replicated across the state. He has ameliorated the suffering of the retired civil servants by doling over 14 billion naira so far for pension and gratuity. Students have received nursery and farmers received variety of crops and other Inputs among other interventions”.

He said that the category of people remaining is the vulnerable people as captured in the social register adding that the bulk purchase agency will take care of such people.

Revd Peters further intoned, “when you look at the index of people that die through hunger then you realize that hunger truly kills, therefore the governor’s intervention in these areas of popular staple foods should be appreciated. He wants to avoid death of people under his care via hunger and people should not trivalised such genuine commitment through sensational headlines in the Media “.

He maintained that most indigent people in the rural areas rear hens and could easily have access to eggs stressing that food items like rice, beans and even garri prices in the market is out of their reach presently prompting the governor’s intervention through Bulk purchase agency.

” The governor has announced that beneficiaries of these palliative of 10kg bags of rice, garri and beans will now pay nothing showing his love for humanity and heart filled with milk of human kindness ” He concluded.