As palliative to cushion the biting effects of the removal of fuel subsidy and the rise in the prices of fuel, Edo State government on Wednesday said it has set aside the sum of N500 million monthly.
The monthly N500 million is to be given to the vulnerable citizens of the state at N20,000 per person, beginning from September.
The state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr Chris Nehikhare, who disclosed this shortly after the State Executive Council Meeting, said the N500 million would be taken from the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR),
Nehikhare assured that the state government had a reliable database of the poorest of the poor in the state, compiled between 2019 and 2021 in conjunction with the World Bank.
“What Exco resolved is that we should revalidate and review the data. With the E do State Residency Cards and the National Identity Number (NIN), we have an effective and efficient database that has enabled us to identify the very vulnerable in the state.
“When the review and the revalidation are completed, we shall begin to disburse the sum of N20,000 every month to the 314,000 households and the over 1,000,000,000 persons in the database.
We need to emphasise that the N500 million is not from the federal allocation but from the IGR of Edo State. The people paid the money and that is why we are taking from it to cushion the effect of the economic hardship because there is no government without the people”, he added.
On security, Nehikhare disclosed that the state government was training 1,500 volunteers in the state’s vigilante group to strengthen security in the state and make Edo State the safest state in Nigeria.
“We are currently training 1,500 volunteers as part of the state’s vigilante groups. They are being trained at the Ogida Police Training School, which was renovated by the state government.
“We are getting their biometrics and reorienting them to think like real security agents. We are proud of what they are doing currently and our aim at the end of the day is to make Edo State the safest state in Nigeria”, he boasted.