The Zamfara state government has refuted reports making the rounds that it spent N2.9bn on Ramadan palliatives.
Special Adviser to the governor on
Public Enlightenment, Media and Communications, Zailani Bappa in a statement, said although the said amount was contained in the governor’s speech, he (the governor) didn’t say all was spent on Ramadan palliatives alone.
The statement reads: “The attention of Zamfara state Government House is drawn to stories carried on many media platforms of the sum of of N2. 9 billion spent on the provision of Ramadan palliatives in the state.
“The information emanated from the speech read by His Excellency, Governor Bello Mohammed (Matawallen Maradun) in a statewide broadcast to mark the end of the fasting period to wish all Muslims a stress free Sallah celebration.
“Indeed, the Governor made mention of the said figures as palliatives cost during the period in question, but a breakdown of how that figure was arrived at did not reflect in the speech which is drawing a lot of criticisms from the general public. Hence, the need for immediate clarification.
“The state Government actually spent the sum of N1,100, 000, 000 in the provision of foodstuff, purchase of cooking materials and ingredients and in the payment of cooks for the supply of food twice daily in all the selected feeding centers across the state throughout the one month of the Ramadan.
“The balance is not actually an amount spent but represents the cost of foodstuff acquired for Civil Servants in the state of which the state Government stood as guarantor. In repayment of the cost of the foodstuff by the benefitting civil servants, the state Government will subsidise the cost by offsetting a fraction of the cost of the items supplied.
“Hence, the figure of N1,100,000,000 is the actual amount of money spent by the state Government during the period to ease the fasting of all citizens of the state, especially under the current pandemic of covid-19” the Zailani explained.