Amidst some complaints that the palliatives being distributed by the “COVID-19 Palliatives Distribution Committee” are not getting to everybody in the areas that have been reached so far, the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, has further cleared the air that the palliatives are meant for the less privileged, not the privileged in the State.
Making the clarification in a live radio programme at Rhythm 93.7FM in Port Harcourt, the Commissioner explained that the State Governor, Nyesom Wike, was very clear on the category of persons it was meant for from the day the committee was inaugurated.
He stated further that in complying with the Governor’s directive, the committee had not only adhered strictly to the Governor’s directive, but also ensured that everything is done to make the process as clear as possible.
“At the inauguration of the committee, the Governor made it explicitly clear that this palliative be just for the vulnerable, which includes the widows, aged, and the less privileged. Working with that over all objective, the Palliative Committee set up a Community-based model for the distribution of the Palliatives.
“At the Ward level you have the traditional Ruler, a clergy man, the CDC, the Youth leader, and the Woman Leader. All these are purely members of the community, who have nothing to do with party affiliation”, he said.
In addition, he stated that “when the palliatives get to a particular Ward, a member of the central Committee is designated to supervise the distribution”.
Noting that every measures put in place in the distribution process is determined by the need for the palliatives to get to those targeted for it, in accordance with the nature of the Governor as a people’s leader, the Commissioner also explained how the Governor had to stop the initial distribution process to accommodate key strata of the society.
“His Excellency is a people’s leader. Recall that this palliative Committee had just done about five Local Government Areas (LGAs) before he said the distribution should stop, that there was need for a review, because as a listening Governor, he wanted to make it more inclusive.
“In making it more inclusive, he had to bring in five representatives of the media, led by the State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and five representatives of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), led by Sotonye George, who is the State Chairman of Civil Liberties Organisation, to make it inclusive and transparent as possible”, he said.
Nsirim, who is also the Secretary of the Palliatives Committee, also stated the excitement that have greeted the distribution of the food items in all the Wards reached so far, saying that it’s towards ensuring that the less privileged don’t go hungry during this period, that the Committee collaborates with the Food Purchase Committee.
“That’s why the palliative Committee is working alongside the food purchasing Committee, and for which the State Government has set aside the sum of #2 billion to ensure that all food items that are produced in Rivers State are purchased by the committee. While the farmers are making their money, the people are also being fed during this period”, he said.
Emphasising that the distribution of the palliatives is not based on party affiliations and taking of oath to pledge allegiance, the Commissioner also used the opportunity to assure people living with disabilities, saying that they will get theirs.
While recalling that the distribution of the food items actually started with the less privileged in the Cheshire home, home for the elderly, etc., including people with disabilities, he explained that the present phase of the sharing of the palliatives is only the first.
“The overall objective, as His Excellency has always said, is that nobody complains about hunger within this period. So, those who are yet to get, should know that this first round of distribution is not going to be the end of the distribution. It’s going to be a continuous process”, he said.
