LASG palliatives distribution seamless, no casualties, no disruptions

…Sanwo-Olu attributes success to planning, stakeholders involvement

By Sodiq Adelakun

Amidst nationwide reports of chaotic scenes and tragic outcomes during the distribution of palliatives, Lagos State emerged as a beacon of effective planning and execution.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu attributes this success to meticulous planning and robust stakeholder engagement.

Unlike the chaotic scenes witnessed in other parts of the country, the distribution of food items to vulnerable households in Lagos is conducted with precision through various channels.

Utilising groups, institutions, NGOs, and community associations, the state ensures that assistance reaches those in need. The Social Protection Department, operating under the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, leverages a social register of vulnerable individuals to facilitate targeted support.

Additionally, to uphold transparency, a Monitoring Committee, comprising representatives from diverse sectors, oversees the process. This coordinated effort underscores Lagos State’s commitment to effective governance and safeguarding the welfare of its citizens.

The members were drawn from religious groups, Trade Unions, People with Disability, Civil Society/Non-Governmental organisations, Youth Group, Community Development Councils and representatives of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

The distribution was phased among the various beneficiary groups for ease of distribution process. In line with this plan, each group was duly informed of the date of collection.

Sanwo-Olu had on Sept. 3, 2023, flagged-off the Lagos Food Bank Programme to distribute food to 500,000 households to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal and the harsh economic situation in the country.

The governor said over 2,500 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were involved in bag manufacturing, food aggregation, packaging, and logistics as part of the programme, while over 25,000 employees of the MSMEs are indirectly impacted.

He said the strategy was to reach 500,000 vulnerable households in the state with staple food items using two methodologies – bulk food items (50kg Rice, 50kg Garri and 100kg Beans) for groups, and food boxes (10kg Rice, 5kg Garri, and 5kg Beans) for individual vulnerable households.

Lagos Territorial Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Ibrahim Farinloye also underscored the importance of planning and stakeholders’ engagement in distribution of palliatives.

He told journalists on Wednesday in Lagos that his organisation engaged security personnel in all the steps involving the distribution of palliatives.

“In all situations we included security; at least an Area Commander and not less than five Divisional Police Offices and their teams.

“We ensure that the space to be used is big and open enough, surrounded with strong barriers that are mounted by staff of NEMA, and not by the Nigeria Police Force,” Farinloye said.

He said before the day of distribution, the agency held expanded meetings with the different stakeholders.

“First, we compile lists of all impacted members of the community, followed by sensitisation on what we intend to do and how it would impact the beneficiaries.

“Working with the community stakeholders like the Community Development Area, Traditional rulers, and political office holders and politicians within the area, we identify volatile areas in the community and give pep talks on how the community could help us to assist them.

“Our Option B is Emergency Preparedness for the exercise,” Fainloye said.

According to him, the agency takes into consideration the weather conditions and changes in temperature in the season and factored them into its plans.

He said if the distribution was carried out during the dry season, for instance, it would consider that some persons would suffer exhaustion, thereby putting in place plans to forestall it.

“We carry out pre-assessment studies on hospital holdings, putting into consideration that some of the beneficiaries could be hypertensive,” Farinloye said.

He said during the distribution proper, bulk SMS and printed tickets were sent to beneficiaries, to ensure that they were attended to in an orderly manner.

Farinloye said the palliatives or materials to be distributed had also been tagged to correspond with the tickets of the beneficiaries.