FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, has assured residents of Abuja that palliative items stored in various warehouses across the territory are safe and secured, as security agents have been deployed to man strategic areas.
Aliyu gave the assurance via a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Mr Austine Elemue, on Saturday in Abuja.
The minister said that the FCT Administration (FCTA) had, in the past few months, distributed palliative items procured and those donated to the Area Councils, Community Associations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and professional bodies.
Aliyu, however, stressed that the administration had continued to receive more donations, which were being distributed on a continuous basis and in a transparent manner.
She said that details of such distributions were in the public domain, as the items were distributed to more than a million households and individuals across the territory.
The minister said that the FCTA ensured that the CSOs and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) participated in the distribution of the palliative items to ensure transparency in the exercise.
Aliyu said that that the warehouses were supposed to stock supplies for emergency response, including the recurrence of COVID-19 emergency.
She warned that unsuspecting members of the public should, therefore, not be lured into criminality under the guise that there were “hoarded palliative food items” in the territory.
Regent Times reports that the police, in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 24, foiled an attempt by some youths to raid the FCTA palliatives warehouse in the premises of the Centre for Arts and Culture at Area 10, Garki, Abuja.
