In the wake of the novel coronavirus, director-general of the World Health Organization had earlier warned that lockdown to limit COVID-19 transmission has ‘unintended consequences for the poorest’ and ‘most vulnerable, and hence he pleads:” Countries are asking people to stay home and shutting down population movement to limit COVID19 transmission.
“These steps can have unintended consequences for the poorest and most vulnerable. I call on countries to ensure these populations have food and life essentials during the crisis,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said on April 2, 2020
Already millions in Nigerians are now facing poverty and deprivation as economic activity grinds to a halt due to lockdown.
For instance, amidst economic bites, residents of Adamawa and Taraba states have faulted the shabby manner in which palliative care distributed, alleging that some of the foods procured to assist were hijacked and diverted.
Recall that the Federal Government had announced a donation of relief materials for distribution to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in states to cushion the effect of COVID-19 lockdown.
Wearing gloomy faces, some residents said that the food items were either hijacked by politicians or shared with people, not in need of the palliative in most areas.
In the wake of the pandemic, Adamawa state government announced that the N500 million worth of foodstuffs would be distributed to old and vulnerable people to cushion the effect of the total lockdown in the State over the Coronavirus pandemic.
The government had set up a committee in each of the 21 local governments comprising commissioners, members of the state House of Assembly, and the local government chairman to ensure that the items got to the right beneficiaries.
But surprisingly, the distribution of the items has faced different challenges, with those meant to benefit from the gesture complaining of being short-changed, as many did not receive the palliative.
Mr. Jennifer Baba and Musa Yusuf of Alliance of Good, regrets that several challenges marred the distribution as most of the targeted groups were left out.
Yusuf, who was among those who went undercover to monitor the distribution in some parts of the State, complained that most of the people listed as beneficiaries were healthy young men and women.
“The cluster committee saddled with the responsibility of identifying the vulnerable people in their communities failed woefully.
“We went to monitor and see how food items will be distributed to vulnerable groups, but to our surprise, most of the beneficiaries that came out to collect the items did not meet the criteria of a vulnerable poor.
“Some local government chairmen and other members which include commissioner from each local government and state lawmaker got the chunk of the items, which is very unfortunate,” he laments.
Mrs. Kauna Patrick, equally noted that most of the targeted groups did not benefit,” in our local government, there was a diversion of the palliative.
“Some heartless People have diverted some COVID 19 materials meant for us; please go to the shop of one of the aids to the chairman, his wife is selling rice meant for the common man without the knowledge of the Hon. Chairman.
“One of the campaign directors to the chairman also diverted some second-hand clothes; it’s now being sold in his wife’s shop, possibly without his knowledge.
“Some partly Exco have diverted some of the materials to the detriment of the masses.
She noted that most of the committee members did not have the capacity to coordinate the distribution at the community level, which manifested in the rowdiness that characterized the exercise.
Mrs. Patrick also said that there was a complete absence of sensitization at the community level by the cluster committees, adding that people came out with the assumption that the food was for everybody,” it’s obvious that committees politicized the distribution.”
Like Adamawa, the story goes the same in Taraba state, was many distraught residents decried that they were yet to get any palliative.
Musa Jimlari, a resident of Jalingo, said,” the economy is hard, and we are yet to receive any assistance from either Federal, State or local government council.
“We only heard on the radio that palliative was doled out for the vulnerable here in the state, but as I am talking to you now, the story is different; the politicians have either hijacked or diverted the said palliative,” said he.
Also corroborating, Na’omi Jen recalls that the state government had assured the residents that there would be donations that would be used as a palliative,” but we don’t know what they got and how it was shared.”
Just like other citizens, Persons living with disabilities (PWLD) also raised an alarm that for now, they are at risk of avoidable health crises and needless deaths as the lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic worsen the livelihoods and survival of PLWDs.
The group expressed concern that many persons living with disabilities may never benefit from the free food stimulus program introduced by the state government if governors fails to co-opt disabled person clusters and Civil Society Organizations as monitors in the palliative distribution process.
Comrade Abubakar Hosere, state Secretary of Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWDs) in Adamawa, said that “we are deeply worried about the recent revelation that some elements have hijacked the free food program initiated by the state, and the severe consequences this sabotage will bring to persons with special needs in the state.”
Hosere raised concerns that a lot of persons with disabilities in the State are yet to receive the food package promised them barely ten days after the promise was made.
“People living with disabilities are caged and now languishing without any palliative; we have over 20,000 members in the State, and it seems nothing is being done to assist us in this trial moment.
“This is why we called for this press briefing to intimate the world on our plight here in Adamawa,” Hosere said.
Alhassan Ibrahim Ganye the National Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the group also confirmed the worry situation and decried that as the cases of COVID-19 increase in Nigeria, and with the Federal and State governments, relevant agencies, corporate organizations and individuals contributing their quota to curb the spread, the people living with disabilities seem to be ignored by all.
“it appears people living with disabilities in Nigeria are left on their own; we are yet to see any palliative by either state or local governments and even individual and corporate organizations.
“Look, even the National Orientation Agency (NOA) is not doing anything to sensitize our people.
“It is obvious nobody cares about us; instead, some of our people are being further discriminated against by several Nigerians, who see them as plagues. This is not fair, because in a time like this, with the lockdown across Nigeria, the people living with disabilities will be worst hit, but we are treated as if we caused our disability ourselves,” he fumes.
Palliative: The Trading words
While the vulnerable continued to lament, oppositions, All Progressives Congress (APC) in particular, and the PDP led government in Adamawa are trading words over alleged diversion of 50 trucks of rice and other palliative materials meant for needy persons in the State.
The drama started when Umar Duhu, the former National Vice chairman of APC, Northeast Zone, accused the State ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government of allegedly diverting 50 trucks for political purposes.
Duhu challenged the Adamawa State Government to account for the materials, alleging that the relief materials were shared among the top government and state PDP officials as COVID-19 lockdown palliative.
According to him, he personally wrote a petition to the National Assembly and Chairman Presidential Task Force to investigate the matter.
“Just few weeks ago, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development was in Yola, where she donated about 50 Trucks of relief materials, particularly to take care of less privileged affected by the insurgency.
“The State Government received and stored the items, and when people start crying of COVID-19 lockdown hardship, they went and took parts of the federal government consignment meant for the IDPs and distributed it as palliative.
“What pains me is the way the distribution was lopsided; those that federal government targeted for the intervention had not received anything,” Duhu alleged.
He also alleged that the distribution favoured only PDP supporters across the 21 local government areas of the State.
The APC chieftain further challenged journalist to investigate,” I also challenge the gentlemen of the Press in the State to go all out and verify if, what the state government is busy distributing to civil servants of levels 1 to 6 or 7 as the case may be, is from the Federal Government or it was purchased by the Adamawa state government?
“The proof is indeed very simple. Just go out and find out if the rice, vegetables oil and other items, the state government is busy distributing today and playing politics with them are foreign products or they are local? It is well known in Nigeria today that, there is no one state government that has a drop of foreign rice and vegetable oil in its kitty, as its important and open sales has since been banned by the Federal Government except, those impounded from smugglers by the Nigerian Customs.
“These are the palliatives the Federal Government directed the Customs through the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs to send to the front line State of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe for onwards distribution to the IDP’s as being the most vulnerable group of our society.
“The Adamawa State Government has today engaged in distribution these products to themselves (PDP folks) and all categories of civil servants in Adamawa Adamawa State, against the interests of the vulnerable group as directed by the Federal Government,” Duhu alleges.
But in a swift reaction, Mr. Sunday Wugira, dismissed the allegations, describing it as “baseless”.
Wugira, a Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Public Affairs, explained to journalists that the purported 50 trucks of relief materials donated to the state government is absolutely false and a distraction.
“As far as I know, the state government didn’t receive a single kobo or particle of grain from the Federal Government as palliative.
“And we are giving him (Umar Duhu) seven days ultimatum to retract his statement and libelous petition against the state government and tender apology letter, otherwise we are going to take a fundamental step to set an example,” Wugira threatened.
On the alleged missing N500 million earmarked by the state government as the palliative, he said the amount was credited to a committee for use on the basis of the need to assist the poor across the State.
But on his part, Mr. Solomon Kumangar, the Director-General, Media and Publicity to the governor, confirmed during a distribution exercise that the palliative doled out by the state government was part of federal government intervention to the State.
Kumangar further explained that the state government would later spend part of the N500 million earlier earmarked for the palliative to replace the federal government intervention materials used by the state government as COVID- 19 welfare package.
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