The National Emergency Management Agency, on Sunday, said it had commenced arrangements for the distribution of 180 trucks of rice to various states as recommended by the National Economic Council. On Thursday the Federal Government announced a N5bn palliative for each state of the federation and 180 trucks of rice as part of measures to assuage the pains of the subsidy removal. When contacted on Sunday and asked whether the lifting of the trucks of rice to states had yet to start, the spokesperson for NEMA, Ezekiel Manzo replied, “I’m not saying that lifting has not started. That’s what I mean.”Manzo explained that the council had given NEMA the responsibility to move the commodities, adding that agency would also distribute relief items to some states. In order to cushion the effect of subsidy removal, the federal government released five trucks of rice to each state last week.

Source: Punch August 21, 2023 15:54 UTC