Ekiti State Government has approved the immediate purchase and distribution of N331 million food items to the needy in the 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 22 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the State as part of Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s recently announced economic relief programme.

The state government also approved the payment of outstanding furniture allowance of political office holders who served between 2022 and 2023 in recognition of their contribution to the development of their LGAs and to also cushion the effect of hardship in the country.

Benefiting political office holders include Vice Chairmen, Secretaries, Councilors, Supervisors and Special Advisers.

The State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Mr Folorunso Olabode, who made this known in Ado Ekiti, explained that the development was part of the state government’s efforts to cushion the effect of the prevailing global economic hardship.

Stressing that each ward would receive 25 bags of rice, Olabode assured that the distribution would be without bias to political affiliation or influence, adding that the entire process would be handled in collaboration with the Community Development Associations (CDAs) in each local government area.

He said that the move is also expected to curb the rising cost of food and serve as palliative for the communities at the grassroots.

The commissioner advised Local Governments to encourage people, particularly the youths in their areas, to engage in agriculture, emphasizing the need to take advantage of opportunities provided by the state government through the Ministry of Agriculture, towards moving farmers in the state from subsistence farming to real agribusiness.