The Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, on Tuesday flagged off the third phase of the palliatives distribution exercise in the state.
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sir Tersoo Kula disclosed this in a statement that the flag-off took place at the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) office, in Makurdi.
Alia hailed the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government for supporting all the states of the federation with palliatives to help reduce the impact of subsidy removal in the country.
He described the palliatives as an effort meant to momentarily cushion the effects of the subsidy removal, enabling the people of Benue to forge ahead and in the end, achieve the status of the food basket through food security.
According to the governor, Benue state took delivery of 25 trucks of maize, 35 trucks of rice and the grains will be distributed state-wide.
He emphasised that it would not be exclusive for any political party, as the entire people of the state are meant to benefit.
He said apart from the 100 buses procured and handed over to Benue Links Transport Company Limited, the state government had earlier procured and distributed fertilizers to farmers across the state, with plans in place to register WAEC and NECO for students in government approved schools as well as train 10,000 youths in different ICT programmes.
Alia promised further that his administration’s focus on road construction would be shifted to the rural areas in the coming weeks and that the government would consider recruitment into the state civil service as early as January 2024.