CACOVID rep backs Kwara gov, says palliatives weren’t hoarded

Taoheed Adewale, representative of the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) in Kwara state, has countered the claim that Kwara government hoarded palliatives.

Some residents of Kwara attacked warehouses inside the cargo terminal of Ilorin International Airport and Agro Mall in Sango area of Ilorin, and carted away the palliatives.

Speaking on a live programme on Midland FM, Ilorin, Taoreed said the state government’s method of identifying and distributing palliatives to intended households was excellent and has allayed CACOVID’s initial fear that the palliatives would get into wrong hands.

“In terms of distribution of the palliatives, it’s been an excellent performance for Kwara State especially in terms of three key things. One, identification of the beneficiaries. We’ve always feared that this could be where there will be problem because we don’t want it to get to the wrong hands,” he said.

“But they (state government) have been able to come up with lists that come directly from the grassroots. And, with this, we know how many families that were given. We have recordings of how many families that were given.

“We were in Jebba (Moro, Kwara North), for instance, and it was not just about distribution, we saw the families. We know where they are and what they do and things like that. The distribution was not hidden. It was more or less like CACOVID handing over to the beneficiaries. The assistance from the (state) committee has been wonderful.

“It is not just about handing over to the state but ensuring that it gets to where it is supposed to get to. We always have a monitoring team. Apart from being a member, I have a monitoring team that’s also checking for me at every point in time. It is CACOVID’s way of doing things. As the state committee was getting it out, we were interacting with the beneficiaries. We have the videos. We went there based on those identified.”

The government said the distribution of food items to victims of the flood and rainstorm had already been carried out in areas such as Asa, Ilorin south, Ilorin east, and parts of Ilorin west and was being handled by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

However, the looted items were meant for flood and rainstorm victims in Edu, Moro, Patigi and Ifelodun local government area.