Abia State Government has restated its commitment to transparency in the management of all aids received from the Federal Government, International and local agencies to ensure fair and equitable distribution to the people.
Governor Otti made this disclosure during a stakeholders meeting for the distribution of the expected food commodities from the federal government through the National Emergency Management Agency.
The Governor who was represented by his Chief of Staff,Pastor Caleb Ajagba, explained that the meeting was aimed at overseeing the proper coordination of food items to residents of the State which is being sent to address the issue of food scarcity occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.
Continuing,he disclosed that the composition of the committee is in line with the directive from the Federal Government through the National Emergency Management Agency.
Governor Otti, while noting that the present administration encourages transparency,
underscored the government’s dedication to serving the people of Abia State efficiently.
“One thing the Governor wants to stress is that this is a very transparent administration and so we don’t want to keep anyone in the doubt or in the dark as to what accrues to the State.
“The same way he has demonstrated capacity, competence and transparency in the Management of this State, everything that accrues to this State, whether from the Federal, the international donor agencies or the local organizations will always be declared so that Abians will know at what point they’re receiving.
“Whatever they are receiving, Abians will also know how what is being received is being made available to everyone so that at the end of it all, they’ll know that indeed, a new Abia is here.
“That is why we have called on everyone here today that we can sit round the table and be able to take stock of what has been made available and then decisively deal with the issue of how they will be made available to the end users.
“We also want to encourage the level of transparency that the Governor has shown to be replicated everywhere across board.
The Governor who noted that the State recently received a letter from the Federal Government on the allocation of food items, including Maize and Garri, outlined the breakdown of the grain allocated to include, “663 metric tons of Maize representing 13,260 bags of 50Kg and 79.9 metric tons of Garri representing 3,196 bags of 25 kg to be shared equally among the LGAs.
He said although the food commodities have not yet arrived, the Abia State Ministry of Agriculture has provided a warehouse for storage upon the arrival.
The Governor said the State would conduct a comprehensive inventory of the received items to ensure transparency and accountability throughout the distribution process to provide accurate account to the Federal Government through NEMA.
He added that , 20% of the grains will be allocated to faith-based organizations, including the Christian community represented by CAN and
the Muslim community, represented by JMI while 3% of the food items will be distributed to boarding schools across the LGAs as directed.
He urged stakeholders to participate in ensuring a fair and transparent distribution process.
The interactive meeting featured contributions from various stakeholders including Mayors from the 17 LGAs of the State, Civil society groups, Women and Youth Association, Persons with Disabilities, representatives of faith based Organizations NLC,TUC among others.
