By Mumini AbdulKareem
Fourteen Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and eight individuals that monitored the distribution of palliatives by Kwara State Government have written to the Deputy Governor and Chairman, Kwara State Technical Committee of COVID-19, Mr. Kayode Alabi seeking clarification on how ₦525,277,030 has been spent by his committee on palliatives in the state.
They said that their monitoring activities availed them the opportunity of keeping records of food items and money distributed to various Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state during the exercise.
The groups said they noted the official press statement from the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor and Spokesman of the State COVID-19 Technical Committee, Rafiu Ajakaye where government disclosed it spent ₦525,277,030 for the purchase of palliatives distributed to the citizens in addition to various kinds of food items donated to and distributed.
In a letter signed by Coordinator of Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), Dr. Abdullateef Alagbonsi on behalf of 14 CSOs and 8 individuals submitted to the Deputy Governor’s office on 7th July, 2020, sent to National Pilot, the groups said “As CSOs and individuals that actively participated in the monitoring of the palliative distribution exercise, we wish to request for the following information on the COVID-19 palliatives, so that we can reconcile our records with the KWSG’s”.
Requesting the Deputy Governor and Chairman of COVID-19 Technical Committee to respond within 7 days, the groups listed their requests as follows:
“Breakdown of all the food items donated to the KWSG to date during the COVID-19 pandemic, breakdown of all the food items that were distributed to Asa, Ilorin West, Ilorin East, Ilorin South, Offa, Irepodun, Ifelodun, and Oyun LGAs, details of all the food items distributed to all categories of Kwarans aside the general distribution to LGAs (in item 2 above) monitored (e.g. National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (Kwara State Chapter), Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities, Kwara Entrepreneurs, just to mention a few), Bill of Quantity of all the food items bought from the ₦525,277,030 and the wage bills of delivery”.
Others are the contact details (name, address and phone number) of the companies/firms that supplied the food items and the amount distributed in Isin, Oke-Ero, Ekiti, Edu, Moro, Patigi, Kaiama and Baruten LGAs as monetized palliatives
Apart from ENetSuD, other CSOs that made the request are, Centre for Community Empowerment and Poverty Eradication (CCEPE), Grassroots Development Monitoring and Advocacy Centre (GDMAC), Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI), Meadows Community and Development Outreach (MCDO), Theios Caregivers Initiative, Org. for the Sustenance of the Nig. Environment (OSNE), Impact Driven Initiative for Sustainable Development (IDISD), Media Advocacy and Technologies Center (MATEC), Hashim Initiative for Community Advancement (HICA) and Hannis Institute for Developmental Studies (HIDS).
Others are Voice of Ilorin Community and Environs (VOICE), League of Women Voters of Nigeria, Connected Development (CODE).
Individuals involved in the demand are Comrade Ahmed Luqman Adana, Aliu Ridwan, Imam Kamaldeen, Abdulrahman Abdullahi, Ahmed Abdulbasit, Aliyu Abdulrahman, Muhammad Sanni Ismaila and Abdulrasaq Dayo Ahmed.
