LAGOS – The Lagos State Government has announced that it would be providing staple foods such as rice, beans, garri, pepper and water to the indigent and the most vulnerable in the society.
The state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced this during a briefing on Friday, saying that it was part of efforts to cushion the effects of the 14-day stay-at-home directive, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the governor, this distribution of the “economic stimulus package” to the 200,000 is the first phase and is expected to last for a period of 14 days.
“We have packaged dry food stimulus for about two hundred thousand families in the first instance for a household of husband, wife and about four children. We would be giving bags of rice, bags of beans, garri, bread, dry pepper and we are trying to see if we can add water and some elements of vitamin C. Each ration, we believe is going to be able to last them at least minimum 14 days just so our advocacy around the stay at home, stay with your loved ones will be respected,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“This is a catalytic initiative of our administration with the hope that well-meaning corporate organisations and private individuals can step up to complement the efforts of the government”.
Meanwhile, the governor also announced that food banks will be provided at the various local governments starting from Saturday, March 28, 2020, to ease commuting of people to markets to get basic daily needs.
As the number of confirmed cases in the state has risen to 44 and a total of 65 in the country, the governor urged residents to refrain from gathering or congregating in order to reduce the risk of further spread.
In an earlier briefing on Tuesday, the governor stated that the accepted maximum for any congregation is 25 persons.
While civil servants in the state have been ordered to stay at home, to reduce the number of people out on the roads, the governor urged private sector organisations to allow their non-essential staff to also work from home or resort to online services where possible.