Edo Govt To Pay N20,000 Monthly Palliative To Vulnerable Citizens  

By Simeon OSAJIE

The Executive Council of the Edo State Government has disclosed that in response to the removal of fuel subsidy and the untold hardship it has caused Edo people, announced the payment of N20,000 monthly social intervention fund to the poorest of the poor in the state which it said consist of 314,000 Households.

Recall Governor Godwin Obaseki in previous week, gave the issuance to Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) during it warning strike, stating that government had set aside the sum of N500 Million to be given to the vulnerable citizens of the state.

Addressing journalists at a press briefing held after the State Exco rose, the state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr. Chris Osa Nehikhare, noted that the N500m will be taken from the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Nehikhare assured that the state government had a reliable database of the poorest of the poor in the state, compiled between 2019 and 2021 during the  Covid-19 pandemic, and was sponsored by the World Bank in conjunction with the Edo State Government.

“What Exco resolved is that we should revalidate and review the data. With the Edo State Residency Cards and the National Identity Number (NIN), we have an effective and efficient database that has enabled us to identify the very vulnerable in the state.

“When the review and the revalidation is completed, we shall begin to disburse the sum of N20,000 every month to the 314,000 households and the over 100,000 persons in the database. We need to emphasise that the N500 million is not from the federal allocation but from the IGR of Edo State. The people paid the money and that is why we are taking from it to cushion the effect of the economic hardship because there is no government without the people”, he said. 

Nehikhare who was flanked by the Special Adviser to Obaseki of Media Project, Crusoe Osagie; and the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Solomon Imohiose, said that the state government condemned the actions of the state deputy governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu by taking Governor Godwin Obaseki to court, saying it is not only condemnable, but unaccepted.

“Exco condemned the actions of the state deputy governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu by taking Governor Godwin Obaseki to court, saying it is not only condemnable, but unaccepted. And I think Edo people should have the right to understand that what is happening is abnormal, we do not condone it, it is not acceptable to us but then, he is an individual,” he stated.

On if the Council made any attempt to reconcile the deputy governor and his principal, the commissioner responded by saying that what Shaibu did amounted to breaching the oath of allegiance and secrecy he took, warning that such attracted consequences.

“What he did is a breach of trust; a breach of the oath he swore to. Some of the things that are contained, some of the documents he put in the public space, are sensitive government documents and are what he swore to keep as secret. He breached what he swore to protect that is the truth, and there are consequences when that happens. But as politicians, we always look for a way to resolve these issues because we want everybody to always come and be together as politicians. But what he has done is a breach of trust. Again, as politicians, we never shut the door”, Nehikhare added.

The Special Adviser to Obaseki on Media Project, Crusoe Osagie, who spoke on the training of 1,500 vigilante personnel, said all those being trained have their biometrics already captured, noting that the state needed to be secured, due to its peculiar nature as the gateway to all the geopolitical zones in the country.

He said, with their training, the vigilante personnel will be more effective in line with the security architecture of the state to complement the regular police force to ensure a minimized crime environment in the state.