By Our Correspondent in Minna
Victims Support Fund (VSF), a Non-Governmental Organisation owned by the former Chief of Defence Staff, retired LT,-Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma has distributed food items and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worth N107.9 million to 25,000 vulnerable households in Niger state.
The Reporters recalls that a Taskforce team of the NGO, which serves as emergency response COVID-19, was inaugurated by Danjuma with to provide palliative measures to some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the vulnerable and extend institutional support to government agencies in support of the fight against corona virus.
The Chairperson of the Victim Support Fund, Toyosi Akerele, who distributed the items expressed optimism that they would cushion the suffering of the less privileged against the pandemic.
Our correspondent reports that items distributed include; 5, 272 bags of rice, beans, maize, salt each and four litres of vegetable oil, 5, 000 surgical face masks, 20, 000 pieces of re-usable face masks and 10,000 250ml hand sanitizers.
Other items are: 1, 174 packets of latex hand gloves, 1,174 Hamzat brand suits, 1,174 safety boots, 1,174 google worth N107.9 million.
According to Akele, Niger state governments will receive 50 per cent of the food items while local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) will distribute the remaining 50 per cent, directly to the IDPs and vulnerable people across the state.
She said that the third phase of distribution of food items and PPEs would cover: Kano, Kastina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau states and the FCT,adding that approximately, 204, 330 direct beneficiaries would be reached across the six states and Abuja.
The Special Adviser to the Governor, on Special Duties, Alhaji Ibrahim Ebbo who received the palliatives for onward distribution to the NGOs and CBOs expressed appreciation to VSF for the gesture.
According to him, the palliatives will go a long way to further alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable persons in the state.
The Governor’s aide however, pleaded with the NGO to extend hands of fellowship to the state government toward addressing other challenges bedeviling the state, including perennial flooding and armed banditry.
While assuring that the food items and PPEs materials would be judiciously distributed to the beneficiaries within the next one week, Ebbo promised that the NGOs and CBOs would be monitored to ensure that the items reached target audience.
