From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Osun State Government has been accused of being insensitive to the plight of the people for withholding the federal government’s palliative when other states have shared their own.
A leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ijesaland, Osun State, Adewale Bamigbade, in reaction to the claim of the government that the distribution was delayed because the palliative remaining 600 bags of rice expected to be delivered, berated Governor Ademola Adeleke-led government for keeping the palliative and subjected people to hardship.
The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, in a statement on Monday, said:
“The state is expecting the second batch of Federal Government food palliative distribution even as it still awaits the last truck of 600 bags of rice from the first batch.
“The government wants to ensure full delivery before launching out on the distribution. We assure the public of transparency and accountability in the sharing of the foodstuffs to the citizenry,” Alimi said.
Bamigbade however questioned why the government would be waiting for the second batch and the remaining 600 bags from the first batch to distribute the palliative.
“It is so unfortunate that the Osun State government refuses to distribute the palliative from the Federal government despite lamentation from every quarter,” he stated.
“The inaction of the Osun government has justified the claim of our party that this current administration is not sensitive to the plight of the people but only interested in playing politics with the lives of those that elected them into office.
“The state received palliative over three weeks ago and refused to distribute same to the residents. The government also received N17 billion as a July allocation with an additional N3 billion palliative but refuses to disclose it to the residents, yet they will claim they are running an open government,” Bamigbade said.
“The excuse by the government through the Commissioner of Information, Kolapo Alimi, that they are awaiting 600 bags of rice before they can commence the distribution of over 2,400 bags of rice they had received in the time past is wickedness and aimed at punishing the residents by playing mere politics.”