In a bid to tackle poverty and improve the standard of living of the people, Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto state has begun the distribution of palliatives, including food items, farm inputs, mobility aids for people living with disabilities, motorcycles and tricycles, across the 23 local government areas of the state.
The Sokoto state Commissioner for information and orientation, Sambo Bello Danchabi announced this while giving a breakdown of the state’s 2025 budget estimates of 526 billion Naira.
Danchadi said over 168,000 bags of rice will be distributed to people of the state at subsidised rates.
He said the state government spent about N14.4 billion on the welfare package meant to cushion the harsh effects of the nation’s economy on the people.
According to him, the welfare package will be distributed to the people in all 244 wards in the state adding that a 50kg bag of rice will be made available at N38,700.
“The Government has commenced the distribution of palliatives to people across the 23 local government areas of the state, through the purchase of 280 trucks of rice containing 168,000 bags, at the cost of ₦14.4 billion, which is currently being sold at subsidized prices across the 244 wards of the state.
On efforts by the state government to boost agriculture, Damchidi stated that some 7000 hectares of land in 17 communities of the state have been prepared for the cultivation of moringa oleifera, which market value, he said, is huge.This is an addition to the rehabilitation of degraded lands of about 1200 hectares at Saturu forest in Dange/Shuni LGA.
The commissioner also disclosed that the government has commenced the distribution of pesticides and fertilizers to encourage dry season farming.
“For the first time in history, the Sokoto State Government has distributed fertilizer, pesticides, and farm inputs free of charge to farmers. This is aimed at supporting food production in the state.
“Our poverty reduction efforts have also yielded positive results, with thousands of youths trained in various skills while livelihood grants have been provided to economically active households. We have also provided social cash transfers to the poor and vulnerable in our society,” he noted.
According to him, the government has not only restored the payment of monthly allowances to people with disabilities, which was discontinued by the previous administration, but has increased the allowances from ₦6,500 to ₦10,000.He said the state government is also committed to increasing the number of beneficiaries from 6,679 to 10,000 in 2025.
On youth empowerment, he said the state government has trained youths in various skills such as tailoring, computer repairs and installation, vulcanizing etc., and provided them with working tools and cash assistance, including 10,000 youths who were trained on digital and technical skills.
The commissioner also announced that state government has purchased 500 tricycles and 1000 motorcycles to be distributed to unemployed youths. Each of the motorcycles was purchased by the government at the cost of N1,275,200 and will be sold to the beneficiary at the cost of N300,000 while the tricycles which are of two categories, electricity and fuel powered, will be sold at N1,500,000 and N1,000,000 respectively against the purchasing cost of N5,800,000 and N3,500,000 by the government.
Editor: Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie
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