About 14,000 households in Itire, Ikate and Ijeshatedo communities, in Iyire/Ikate Local Council Develooment Area, LCDA, have benefitted from the relief materials distributed by the council chairman, Hon Ahmed Apatira.
The relief package which came in form of items including: 2-kilogramme bag of rice, 2-kilogram bag of Semovita, 2-kilogramme bad of Gaari, 2-kilogramme bad of beans, fruits, beverages, soaps, packs of Indomie Noodles and hand sanitizers and tagged: “Stimulus Package to Communities Within Itire-Ikate,” was to help residents cushion the effects of the 14-day ‘stay-at-home’ order declared by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Apatira Food Relief Package targeted 2,000 households in each of the seven wards of Airways, Agunbiade, Odolowu, Karonwi Ogunsami, Sanusi, Baruwa and Ramoni, which made up the LCDA.
Some of the residents of Airways Road, Association Avenue, Oremeji, Agboola, Imam Shuaib Sanusi, Karonwi Oredola, Durojaiye, Anjorin and Cole streets benefitted from the gesture.
Earlier, Dr Apatira had embarked on a sensitisation excercise on COVID-19 and how to avoid contracting the virus, during which the LCDA distributed preventive materials such as hand sanitizers and washing buckets to the people.
He also placed water dispensers in strategic places within the communities and the council secretariat, after which a fumigation exercise followed to decontaminate the communities, starting from the council secretariat on Airways Road to Salami Bashorun and Yisa streets among others.
Leading the distribution of the food items, Apatira gave priority to the elderly, widows and the vulnerable, and assure that more people would benefit when Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s relief package reaches the council.
He said, “While waiting for the Emergency Economic Stimulus Package from the state government, we thought it wise to play our own role as government closer to the grass roots. We know the governor’s economic support can’t go round, even with the ones we are distributing now, we can only appeal for the understanding of those who won’t benefit from these. We will consider them in subsequent distributions.”
While apoealing to the residents of the LCDA to comply with the ‘stay-at-home’ order, Apatira added, “The government is not punishing us with the directive, rather to save our lives. We don’t want our situation in Nigeria to get to the level of Italy, Spain or United States.
“The earlier we nip the coronavirus in the bud, the better for our country and everybody will return to our normal ways of life. The sacrifice is just for a period of time and it’s worthwhile. I pray none of us or our family members will contract the virus. We pray for quick recovery of those with the index cases.”
In tgeir reactions, some of the beneficiaries thanked the council boss for the gesture. one of the recipients, Madam Yemisi Alao hailed Apatira for monitoring the distribution, a development which she said ensured that the package gets to those who deserved it.
She said, “We read how people were diverting the governor’s package and sabotaging the lofty idea. I want to appeal to our Chairman to personally lead the distribution of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s economic package once they bring them to our local government.”
