Did Bauch Govt Earmark N5bn for Foodstuff, Refreshment Amid Hardship? Details Emerge

• The Bauchi State Government has refuted recent media claims suggesting that it spent N5 billion on food and refreshments in 2023, labelling them as inaccurate and malicious
• The state government, in a statement, asserted that these reports were intentionally fabricated by online news outlets to deceive the public
• Gidado strongly criticised the report, denouncing it for violating fundamental journalistic principles

Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro

The Bauchi State government refutes a recent claim circulating on online platforms, claiming it allocated over N5 billion to food and refreshments in 2023.

The government labels the report as a distortion of facts to generate sensational but false information to deceive the public.

According to a statement from the Government House, the assertion that such a hefty sum was spent on food and refreshments, surpassing the combined budget for water facilities, education, and health services, is entirely fabricated and misleading.

Read also

Eko DisCo threatens mass disconnection of government MDAs over N36bn debts

The government dismisses it as a product of the author's imagination.

Bauchi govt responds to allegations

The governor's media and publicity adviser, Comrade Mukhtar Gidado, emphasised in a released statement that the authors of these reports failed to verify or seek clarification from government departments, leading to an imbalanced portrayal of the situation.

As reported by Leadership, he said:

"The federal government announced the arrangement to provide each state with N5 billion, under a structured loan and grant facility, to acquire food items for distribution to citizens as palliatives to ameliorate their sufferings as an emergency intervention. It is also a fact that only N2 billion was ultimately disbursed by the federal government."

Mukhtar highlighted that in response to the challenges posed by removing petroleum subsidies and the resulting difficulties, the federal and state governments had committed to implementing measures to alleviate the populace's hardships.

Read also

Under Tinubu's reign, Nigeria turned into a killing field, says Atiku

He said:

“Under the arrangement, states were to purchase 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize and fertilizers to cushion the effect of food shortage that had arisen.

"Additionally, 180 trucks of rice were to be distributed by the Central Bank of Nigeria with a call for individual states to augment such arrangements in order to expand the benefits to a greater number of citizens."

Jigawa governor approves N2.8billion for Ramadan Iftar

Meanwhile, Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi has pledged to support the state's residents during Ramadan.

He has allocated N2.8 billion for a Ramadan iftar program to provide meals for the disadvantaged and those in need.

Additionally, the governor has established 609 feeding centres across the state.

Source: Legit.ng