The Akwa Ibom State Government on Wednesday September 6, began the distribution of palliatives to different local government areas in order to cushion the effect of subsidy removal by the Federal Government.

The disbursement of palliatives was part of the activities to mark Pastor Umo Eno’s 100 days in office.

The palliatives, meant for the poorest of the poor in the state, was flagged off by the governor at the government warehouse at Ikot Ekpene Udo, Nsit Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state.

It can be recalled that on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, Pastor Umo Eno admitted the receipt of N2billion and 3,000 bags of rice palliatives from the federal government as a way to alleviate the impact of the removal of the fuel subsidy on the citizens.

The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, in his speech announced that the State Government has spent over N5billion to support federal government efforts, promising the release that further expenses as recommended by the Palliative Committee.

He said these would include N2billion for the purchase of a hundred thousand bags of rice, N2billion for payment of gratuities of retirees, N1billion for payment of bursary to students, and N2billion cash award to three thousand workers in the State, among others.

“Distribution of additional bags of rice to each of the 2,272 gazetted villages; cash transfers to 53,000 workers in the state for three months, levy free Fridays for transporters and traders for three months. All these have raised our contributions to the palliative scheme to about 5 billion Naira.”

He explained that apart from the fact that each village will receive 40 bags of rice, his administration is poised at helping parents with school uniforms and shoes for students in secondary school as well as bearing the cost of their WAEC examination and disbursing cash in form of bursaries to students in the university as part of the palliative project.

“As part of the palliatives we are rolling out, based on the initial N2bn we received from the Federal Government in the form of loans and rice, we intend to support parents with school uniforms, shoes, and the payment of bursaries to students in tertiary instructions after proper verifications…”

“Our commitment to the payment of WAEC fees is irrevocable, and we have already done so since we came in.”

The Governor assured Akwa Ibomites that the palliatives will be shared fairly and equally to all irrespective of political affiliation, and urged them to comply with the committee in charge of the distribution in order to ensure that the allocation goes smoothly.