Aiyedatiwa approves N2bn intervention fund on food security

The Governor of Ondo State, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has approved N2bn as an additional intervention fund to enhance food security and cushion the effects of economic challenges for the people of the state.

The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Wale Akinlosotu, disclosed this while addressing journalists after the meeting of the State Executive Council on Tuesday, in Akure, the state capital.

He said the government had started distributing food commodities received from the “Federal Government to vulnerable residents, with subsidized food sales taking place at designated markets across the three senatorial districts.”

Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Mr Olayato Aribo, confirmed that the food items had been allocated to the 18 local government areas of the state.

Aribo said that the state government had initiated neighbourhood markets where food is being sold at reduced prices every Thursday and Sunday in the three senatorial districts, providing relief from the high costs in regular markets.

He said, “We will start with those ones and later extend it to other cities and local government headquarters. Rice, beans, and garri will be sold at reasonable and subsidized prices for the people and modalities will be given later.

“For the long-term solution, the council approved the sum of N2bn for various initiatives, including clearing of lands and provision of farming equipment. We have identified lands across various local government areas, and we have also identified dams and water boards across the state.”

In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the governor on Infrastructure, Babalola Ayoade, disclosed that the state government would begin repairing 20 kilometres of township roads across major towns, including Ondo, Akure, and the Akoko axis, aiming to make major roads in the state pothole-free.

Ayoade also mentioned plans to extend solar street lighting to other parts of the state.