Olayide Adelami, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state, says the state government is yet to devise a plan for equitable distribution of resources to cushion the effects of the covid-19 pandemic.
The aspirant, who made the call in Akure, the state capital, called on the government to roll out palliative measures and create food bank to support the people, most especially the vulnerable ones.
“Now that their income has been blocked with the present shutdown and no hope of income from any other means, the Ondo state government needs to step in, mandate the relevant agency to capture their data and begin the distribution of resources to support this sector. Anything short of this could mean an invitation to starvation and depression for a large percentage of the state’s populace,” he said
“The informal sector would be badly hit should the sit-at-home order persists which looks inevitable as there seems to be no end in sight to the pandemic. While government workers and their counterparts in the private sector are assured of getting paid at the end of the month, same cannot be said about members of the informal sector who only depend on daily proceeds from their trades to fend for themselves and their families.”
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Adelami also spoke on the need for the Ondo government to start preparing for the post-COVID-19 looming economic meltdown being forecast by global economists.
“This pandemic has also shown that there is a need for states in Nigeria to start diversifying and not rely on revenue from Abuja. After the crisis, there is bound to be a shortfall in the monthly allocation states receive from Abuja as world economy will be badly affected, in order not to be caught unaware, Ondo needs to start thinking outside the box on how to generate revenue to keep the state running,” he said.
He urged the people of the state and Nigerians to stay safe and observe all the precautionary measures put in place by government and health officials to curb the spread of the virus.
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