Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State has declared that the state government will spend the sum of N500m for the feeding of beneficiaries during Ramadan, which commences today April 24 2020.
The governor has constituted a 32-person committee on COVID-19 Ramadan feeding programme in the state.
He said, “Unlike last year, there is significant rise in the amount to be spent from N380m last year to N500m this year due to increase in the number of envisaged beneficiaries and the increase in the price of commodities.
“The feeding programme, with a modified mandate slightly different from its kind executed in the past, will take cognisance of the World Health Organisation guidelines on the prevention of the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“Although the number of feeding centres in the state has been increased from 137 in 2019 to 150 this year, steps have been taken to ensure they are not crowded during breakfast distribution sessions.
“In order to ensure that we observe the guidelines, raw food would be mainly given to the beneficiaries while some selected centres will be designated to provide only takeaways,” Tambuwal explained.
The committee is headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Saidu Umar, while a former Permanent Secretary in the state’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, Alhaji Bello Mailato, would serve as secretary to the committee.
The state’s ministry of health and all security agencies in the state would be represented by one person each.
