Before a crowd of excited community leaders, workers and ordinary Lagosians, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said on Tuesday that he had fulfilled his promise to stand by the vulnerable amid the global economic hardship.
“We have fulfilled the promises we made during the Media Chat in February – that we will not leave the vulnerable among us on their own – in health, transportation and education. We created 59 markets and turned them into Sunday markets. We promised that we will be selling food at 25 per cent discount. That we have kept faith with. The medical outreach will start next week at the latest to give medical attention to a lot of our citizens who may not want to go to our hospitals. Medicines will be given and counsel will be given. You have continued to enjoy the 25 per cent fares rebate on our ferry services. On our buses and on our trains”.
“Today we will be launching an attempt to reach 500,000 households. All we have done is a tip of the iceberg. Now the real deal is about to start”, Mr. Sanwo-Olu said at the public presentation of Eko Cares, the umbrella of all the social interventions announced by the government. The event was held on the grounds of the Governor’s Office in Alausa, Ikeja. The objective, according to him, is to see that food will no longer be a challenge to the poor”, the Governor said.
He praised President Bola Tinubu’s economic measures and urged citizens to play their own part.
Sanwo-Olu said: “You can see that the tides are turning. That is why we must commend the intervention of the President, who has been leading from the front. He has been able to pass on grains to all the 36 states. We will be distributing ours to all of you. You can also see that Mr President has not sat back to fold his arms… to let us have a free flow of the issues that started this thing, which was the currency.
“Now we have seen that there has been a rebound. We can see that the currency is now getting strengthened. Naira is becoming a currency that we are truly proud of now because it is taking its proper pride of place. Now we should ensure that all gari sellers, all beans sellers are not increasing prices just because dollar went up. Prices don’t have anything to do with dollar. Even diesel is coming down. We have no excuse again. We need to be our brother’s keeper”.
According to him, the food items would be distributed through religious leaders, community development associations, trade unions and grassroots organisations. He warned that they should not be hoarded. Besides, the governor said the Sunday market initiative would continue.
Members of the Special Dispensation Advisory Committee set up to advise the government on the initiatives were specially recognized by the Governor who asked them to stand up. They were praised for rendering their service pro bono.
Agriculture Commissioner Bisola Olusanya took the governor on an inspection of the food items, displaying the contents of the food boxes.
In his welcome address, Commissioner for Information, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for the initiatives, describing him as “a leader who is bound by his words”.
He noted that ‘Eko Cares’ is for the vulnerable, adding that Sanwo-Olu’s administration has touched the lives of every Lagosian.
“The launching of Eko Cares is a testimony that the administration will not leave the poor to their own devices”, Omotoso said.
