Mr. Godwin Obaseki, the Governor of Edo State, has announced a significant commitment to address food insecurity among the state’s vulnerable Christian population. He pledged a monthly allocation of no less than N1 billion for the next three months to this cause on Friday.
Parallel to this, he mentioned that a similar initiative is in the pipeline for the Muslim community in the state.
This announcement was made during the official launch of the first phase of the Edo State Food Support Programme. The Governor expressed his concern about the increasing number of individuals in the state who struggle to afford daily meals.
In an effort to keep the initiative non-political, Mr. Obaseki chose to collaborate with Christian leaders rather than political officeholders to reach out to the needy Christians in the state.
The Governor stated, “I was worried by the rising number of people who cannot afford a square meal in a day. So, I thought to myself how do we solve this problem? This is not politics I told myself.”
He further added, “I then called the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and others to a meeting and explained to them what I intended to do. So, that’s how we put our heads together to come up with this programme.”
The programme aims not only to provide food assistance but also to gather more data about the state’s residents to facilitate job creation and other necessary government interventions.
Apostle Irekpono Omoike, the Chairman of the Organisation Committee and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), expressed gratitude for the initiative. He revealed that 60,000 bags of rice, each weighing 10kg, have been procured for distribution across the state’s three senatorial districts.
He detailed the distribution plan, stating that 27,000 bags would go to the seven local government areas in Edo South, 15,000 bags to Edo Central, and 18,000 bags to Edo North. Each of the 18 local government areas would receive 3,000 bags, for a total of 54,000 bags. The remaining 6,000 bags would be distributed to churches not under CAN’s umbrella.
