The Rivers State government has confirmed the receipt of presidential palliatives aimed at supporting local governments and communities affected by floods in the state.
The State Flood Prevention and Management Committee, chaired by the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, began distributing the items on Tuesday. The palliatives, provided by the Federal Government, include 2,700 bags of 50kg rice, 1,070 treated mosquito nets, 140 cartons of tomatoes, and other relief items.
While overseeing the distribution, Prof. Odu emphasised that the palliatives would be shared across all 23 Local Government Areas and extended to non-indigenes residing in the state.
“We have given some to stakeholders. These were sent to the state for distribution. We have 2,700 bags of 50kg rice, 1,070 mosquito-treated nets, and 140 cartons of tomatoes,” she said.
Explaining the decision to include non-indigenes in the distribution, Odu highlighted that flood-affected communities had already received support from the state government on several occasions. “We are going to distribute it to the 23 local government areas and the non-indigenes. We intentionally included non-indigenes, so we are dividing everything by 24. We have provided palliatives to the flood-affected areas repeatedly. This time, we decided that it should go to everyone, and we want to ensure they receive it before Christmas.”
She further expressed hope that the palliatives would serve as a Christmas gift to residents, helping to alleviate some of the challenges faced by communities in the aftermath of the floods.
“These are the presidential palliatives sent to the states. It has become a Christmas palliative for them,” Odu remarked.
