A state-focused socio-development pressure group, Ajoro Ekiti, has described as grossly inadequate and insensitive, the palliatives and money extended to the state by the federal government during this excruciating lockdown over COVID-19.
“We have been taken for granted and gross underserved,” said the ‘Ekiti Let’s Reason Together’ group, while appealing for global support and generous donations to the purse of the Ekiti State COVID-19 Response Resource Mobilisation Committee (ECRRMC), set-up by the state governor, Kayode Fayemi,
The organisation is also urging Fayemi to consider a structured approach to the lockdown measure put in place to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state, according to a statement made available to the media in Ado-Ekiti, by its Convener, Ariyo-Dare Atoye.
The statement read: “In the document that we have seen, less than five thousand (4,709) people in Ekiti State, are listed as beneficiaries of the April 9, 2020, national cash transfer, while Katsina state and Zamfara states got 133, 227 and 130, 764 beneficiaries respectively.
“While we are not ignorant of the fact that poverty rate is higher in the North, however, we are stunned by the inexcusable number allocated to Ekiti state, which is anything but ludicrous, inadequate and gross insensitive.
“The entire process has been muddled up from the National Social Register that unacceptably underserved Ekiti people, to the opaque manner in which the COVID-19 national cash transfer was handled and executed.
“But we will not dwell on this seeming betrayal of our state; it is time for Ekiti people to build an enduring global outreach via which Ekiti sons and daughters around the world could support and contribute to a single-purse to occasionally assist indigent people.
“We have implicit and firm confidence in ECRRMC led by Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi and supported by former Governors Segun Oni, Niyi Adebayo and Ayo Fayose, and also in their ability to galvanise a worldwide support for the pro-poor scheme.
“Our group will support the committee to advance the advocacy, including sharing the account details to far and near through our reach, and we will also urge our members and friends to contribute to the purse.
“It is also important at this juncture to urge Gov. Fayemi to consider a structured lockdown in view of the socioeconomic reality of our country and the state, because the present total lockdown system is capable of creating hunger-chaos and triggering social unrest.
“Ekiti is a unique state that could be run smartly, its peculiarity stands it out as an enlightened society that could adapt to a structured measure during this pandemic, whereas the people are sensitized to apply basic rules while conducting their businesses.
