AFEEZ HANAFI tracks irregularities in the distribution of COVID-19 Emergency Food Response Initiative of the Lagos State Government and the Federal Government’s Conditional Cash Transfer scheme in the state
Neighbours and good Samaritans dictate whether Kafayat Ayobami and her eight-year-old son get their daily meals or go hungry. Such is the pitiable fate that has defined the living of the duo in the past four years when the 31-year-old single mother lost her sight.
While they grappled with vagaries of survival, nationwide lockdown imposed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to check the spread of the coronavirus pandemic compounded their ordeal.
They could no longer go outside their community in Maya, on the outskirts of Ikorodu, Lagos, to beg for alms for fear of contracting the virus.
Every other day, the effect of the lockdown stung mother and son to no end. They pounced on any food item gifted to them as it came and have had to skip meals on several occasions. Many of their neighbours who usually lend a helping hand were also struggling with the tough period.
Few weeks into the lockdown, the Lagos State Government announced its COVID-19 Emergency Food Response Initiative “committed to reaching the poor and vulnerable regardless of their location within the state.”
Lagos, being the epicentre of the virus in Nigeria, received N10bn from the Federal Government to support emergency response to the pandemic.
As the distribution commenced, Ayobami’s expectation that the food palliative would reach her doorstep was high; particularly as the state government made a separate arrangement for persons living with disability.
“Some officials called me during the lockdown and said they wanted to give me food items,” Ayobami stated during an encounter with our correspondent mid June.
“They said my house was too far and that they could not come. I called them again but their line didn’t go through,” she remarked grimly while being led by her son to a wooden bench in front of their mini apartment.
While the about two months’ lockdown lasted in the Africa’s fifth largest economy, Ayobami and her son lived every day on the off chance, hoping that help would come their way from anyone.
She said, “I didn’t receive any food palliative from the state government. It was the chairman, association of the blind in Lagos who sent N5,000 to me which I used to feed myself and my son for some days. Many times, I cried because there was nothing for us to eat. We had to combine breakfast with lunch on many occasions.
“I was selling provisions before I lost my sight. I spent all my capital to treat the eyes to no avail. I started going out with my child to beg for alms but we stopped because of the virus. I didn’t want to put him at risk.”
The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, said in March that the state government would be giving five-kilogramme bags of rice, beans, garri, loaves of bread, dry pepper, water “and some elements of Vitamin C,” to 200,000 poor and vulnerable households.
The immediate past Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Gbolahan Lawal, also stated that the government would work with the existing database, using the Lagos State Residents Register Agency and registered community development associations in 377 wards to reach the beneficiaries.
In April, Lawal said the government had ‘crossed’ the first phase of the programme that was supposed to cater to 200,000 households and “moved to specialised areas, groups, such as the physically challenged people, whose data we have through our Office of Disability Affairs.”
Unfortunately, the food ration never got to Ayobami and some other physically challenged people across the state, said the Chairman, Nigeria Association of the Blind, Lagos branch, Mr Babatunde Mohammed.
“The state government promised to do door-to-door delivery to our members but they did not do that,” Mohammed told Sunday PUNCH. “Initially, they sent text messages to most of us, asking if we still occupy our addresses where we did our LASRRA. I was happy that eventually LASRRA is useful. But at the end of the day, most of our members were exempted from the palliatives.”
Mohammed explained that a member of the association was part of the government team that went to Agege, Ikeja and Ogba to distribute the food items to PWDs, adding that only one Olaniyi got the palliative in Agege.
He stated, “When they finished the exercise that day, they gave Kemi (the member) 10 food packs to distribute to other members. She called me and I had to pay a dispatch rider to distribute the packs to some of our members in Ogba, Agege and Iyana Ipaja, who were calling me consistently.
“The Chairman, Joint National Association of Persons Living with Disability, Lagos State branch, Dr Adebukola Adebayo, worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and they went to every local government to distribute food palliatives to our members. They told people to gather at three or four locations within a local government, so our members had to trek down there.
“They gave quite a number of our members in Alimosho LGA. In Kosofe, many people could not get because they did not have information about the location in good time and it was difficult for them to get there. On Lagos Island, they (officials) were waylaid by hoodlums. They had to run away and could not return there.
“Out of over 100 members in Ikorodu, only 31 got food packs and there was no even distribution. Some people got spaghetti and sugar while others got rice and beans. I didn’t get the palliative because I was more concerned about my people.”
Adebayo, in an interview with our correspondent, noted that PWD community was not properly engaged by the state government in the planning of the COVID-19 relief programme, leading to the exclusion of many potential beneficiaries.
“Not planning for emergency is a failure on the part of government at all levels and I will score the government 30 per cent. There was problem with the distribution of food. Sometimes, politicians hijacked it and it didn’t get to the people it was meant for,” he added.
The JONAPWD chairman disclosed that he was involved in the distribution of the food rations, adding that of hundreds of thousands of PWDs in Lagos, 3,000 food packs were provided with support from non-governmental organisations.
The 2006 Nigerian census indicated that 3.3 million Nigerians or 2.32 per cent of the population had disabilities. The figure was questioned as underreported just as the population has increased from 140,431,790 then to about 200 million according to the World Poverty Clock. Lagos population is reportedly over 20 million.
The 2011 world report on disability said about 25 million Nigerians had at least one disability while 3.6 million of the figures had significant difficulties in functioning.
Adebayo said the food packs were initially meant to be delivered door-to-door but it was realised that the government didn’t have the logistics to do so.
He stated, “Many of our members who are blind and those in wheelchair found it difficult to come to the distribution centres. Hoodlums also waylaid us but it was not rampant.
“The food items available were just too few. The package contained 5kg of rice, 5kg of beans and 5kg of garri. There were also seasoning and a litre of groundnut oil there.
“Next time government wants to do something like this, the Lagos State Office of Disability Affairs should be actively involved. Data collected from LASODA was obsolete.”
Adebayo maintained that no PWD in Lagos benefited from the Federal Government Conditional Cash Transfer during the lockdown but said plans were underway to include some members.
Buhari had directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in March to pay N20,000 (a cumulative of N5,000 for four months) to 2.6 million poor, vulnerable Nigerians on the National Social Register to mitigate hardship caused by COVID-19. The tally was later extended to 3.6 million to accommodate more people.
Following the outbreak of coronavirus in the country, the Federal Government raked in about N27bn donations from individuals and corporate organisations to manage the pandemic.
The International Monetary Fund also released $3.4bn (about N1.2tn, at N380 to $1) early May to Nigeria to address challenges arising from the economic impact of COVID-19.
Food items we got, far below govt’s promise – Residents
In separate interviews with our correspondent, heads of registered CDAs in various Lagos communities said food palliatives distributed grossly fell short of what they expected of government. Others said they only got some food quantities from their local councils.
In most cases, two or three food packs were given to an entire community to share. In the end, few elderly people got two to three dericas (a tin of about 600ml) of rice, beans or garri while many others didn’t get at all, Sunday PUNCH’s investigation showed.
“We didn’t get anything from the Lagos State Government,” the Chairman, Oke-Aro CDA, Ibereko, Badagry, Mr Johnson Ajele, declared.
“It was Olorunda Local Council Development Area that sent us two small bags containing three dericas of rice and beans, and one bottle water. We were asked to give the food to underprivileged people in our community. They told us to take pictures of the beneficiaries and send to them.
“We gave the food items to two old poor people. Some days after, a former commissioner sent two polythene bags of food rations containing three dericas of rice, three dericas of beans and three dericas of garri. We shared it to six poor elderly people in the community out of about 80 of them. We didn’t get any cash from the Federal Government,” he added.
Chairman, Mulero-Ashafa CDA, Alhaji Adisa Korodo, said they waited to no avail for the state’s COVID-19 emergency food response, before the Orile-Agege LCDA chairman gave the community seven bags of rice and beans shared to each family in two dericas.
“We only heard of the state government food palliatives. We didn’t get it. It ended up in the hands of politicians. We were asked to come to Oyewole Primary School on Friday, March 27.
“Some executive members went there to represent our CDA. The people who wanted to distribute it came late and asked us to come the next day. The following day, the officials went to Oniwaya (a neighbouring community). Our members went there but nothing was given to them,” said 79-year-old Korodo, who is also an executive member, Community Development Committee, Orile-Agege.
President of the Joint 19 CDAs in Selewu, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Mr Segun Daniyan, told our correspondent that some packs containing rice, beans, garri, five loaves of bread and two sachets of tomato were given to five CDAs by the state government.
“My CDA got three packs,” Chairman, the Exclusives CDA – one of the 19 CDAs – Mr Akinpelu Atoyebi, stated.
“We shared the food items to nine underprivileged people. Some got garri, some got rice while others got beans. Some other CDAs got one or two packs.”
Secretary, Forolagba CDA, Ifako in the Kosofe Local Government Area of the state, Mr Azeez Ademosu, explained that a food pack, comprising 5kg of rice, 5kg of beans and 5kg of garri was shared among 20 poor families in his domain.
“The local government also gave us one 5kg of rice and garri and one carton of noodles which we shared among ourselves. Some people were given small rice, some got beans, while others received garri,” he noted.
An elder in Akodo community, Ibeju-Lekki, Alhaji Najeem Jegede, said he only got 5kg of beans with the label COVID-19 Emergency Food Response from the state government and not the complete food ration.
He lamented, “The distribution was faulty because a lot of our people didn’t get. People believed the food was diverted by some politicians in charge of the distribution.
“It was our local government chairman who gave people takeaway packs while a commissioner from Ibeju-Lekki shared some food items.”
Few food packs for many vulnerable persons
Residents of Ifelodun CDA, Itire, Mushin LGA, were perhaps among the ‘luckiest beneficiaries’ of the food palliatives. Of about 400 people aged 55 and above in the community, 80 people got a pack of food ration each, said the chairman, Mr Rasheed Bakare.
“We got the food around April through the local government. The council invited all the CDA leaders and gave us 80 packs of food items to distribute to residents from 55-year-old and above, but a lot of people did not get. Nobody got a dime from the Federal Government,” Bakare submitted.
Chairman, Ijebutedo CDA, Somolu LGA, Mr Fatai Adeniji, noted that the state government also distributed the food palliatives in his CDA.
“I benefited from the food but many people didn’t get. As for the N20,000 cash promised by the Federal Government, nobody received it in my CDA,” Adeniji, 58, added.
We didn’t get any food palliatives– Indigent elderly
At 60s, Mrs Wuraola Aiyeni of Radiatu Osoba Street, Igbo-Olomu, Ikorodu, has yet to bid farewell to hard labour.
She fetches logs of wood from bushes and sells to locals to put food on the table for her five children. The eldest among them is 25 years old and an apprentice carpenter while others are in school.
As the rainy season started, accessing bushes increasingly became difficult for the sexagenarian.
“Surviving is difficult but it was much more difficult during the lockdown,” Aiyeni spoke stealthily. “I didn’t get any palliatives and coping with five children was really tough for me. Their father is no longer with us.”
A similar slice of abject lack worsened by the COVID-19 lockdown was what Aiyeni’s neighbour, Mrs Modinat Idowu, also fought off.
A widow with six children, life has taken a harsh toll on the 72-year-old woman while struggling to cater to her six children.
She stated, “I retired as a market sweeper. I live on gestures from one of my children and residents but during the lockdown, I could barely get anything from them because they were not working.
“I didn’t get any food or cash from government. It was a tough time for me but I am grateful to God that I survived.”
Some underprivileged people in the Eti-Osa LGA, who also shared their ordeal during the lockdown, with Sunday PUNCH, complained that they didn’t benefit from the food ration.
A 61-year-old retiree, Mr Ebine Ifeniyi of Ibamo community on Ajah-Ado Road, relived days he endured hunger and skipped breakfast or lunch.
He said, “I am one of the elders in the community. None of us in this area got food palliatives from the government. It was God that kept me throughout the lockdown. It was really tough. There were times I had to eat garri.
“I retired as an hotelier 17 years ago. My wife and I have a small provision shop we manage but sales dropped drastically during lockdown. We are at least 25 elderly people in my community. None of us got any palliatives.”
Mr Jackson David of Okera Kekere, Eti-Osa, was also caught in the turbulent time without any succour from either the state or federal government to cushion the effect.
“My family ate once or twice a day during that time. It annoys me when I hear story that government distributed food because it didn’t get here. If they gave to the younger ones, are my children not young enough to collect? Everything is politics.
“Many of us are elderly and vulnerable here, yet we didn’t receive anything. I have LASRRA card and a national ID card which means my details are with the government and they can use them to reach out to me,” the 65-year-old retiree noted.
The traditional ruler (otherwise known as baale) of Orimedu in Ibeju-Lekki, Chief Mubashiru Abiodun, revealed that some officials came to his community in June and collected details of potential beneficiaries of the COVID-19 food package.
“They promised to come back with food but we have not seen them. There are about 60 people of age 55 and above in my community. It was very difficult for my people to survive during the lockdown,” Abiodun, 60, added.
We distributed food to 500,00 households, not everyone’ll get –LASG
Omotosho said in a state with over 20 million population, it was normal for people to complain they did not get the food ration.
He noted that the palliatives were meant for “the poorest of the poor and vulnerable people who don’t know where their next meal will come from.”
When our correspondent told him that many poor, vulnerable households the food packs were meant for did not receive them, he said, “They would not get because in Lagos we have about 22 million people. If you tell people to register, they won’t. People come to Lagos every day, yet they want the government to take care of them.”
He added, “There is no evidence of diversion. It might have happened but I didn’t see it. Where did they divert it to? No politician will divert the food and put it in their room; they will still give to people. There is no way you can do something as massive as this and there wouldn’t be errors. This is the first time we are doing this kind of thing.
“We have the data of physically challenged people. We have the Office of Disability Affairs where they have been registered. That is why it was easy for us.”
When told of physically challenged people who could not get the palliatives because of the alleged ‘obsolete data,’ he said there was no way government would give food to everybody.
Sunday PUNCH requested the monetary value of the total food packs distributed by the government from the state Ministry of Agriculture which coordinated the programme but did not get a reply.
“A lot of information has been put out there has to the monetary value and quantity of the food items distributed. You can check online and get back to me. We have distributed to about 500,000 households,” the Acting Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, said.
Multiple checks by our correspondent indicated that the monetary value was not in the public domain.
Subsequent calls put across to Olusanya’s mobile were not picked up and she had yet to reply to a text message sent to her as of press time.
CCT failed in Lagos during total lockdown
To lessen the impact of the total lockdown on the vulnerable people, the President ordered that four months’ payments of N20,000 be paid upfront to beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer across the country.
All the elderly, poor Lagos residents Sunday PUNCH interviewed said they did not receive the money while languishing in hunger during the lockdown.
Our correspondent evoked the Freedom of Information Act, requesting the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on June 16, 2020 to provide details of Lagos beneficiaries of the N5,000 CCT. There was no response from the ministry as of Saturday – more than one week after the seven-day timeline elapsed.
However, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Mrs Yetunde Arobieke, said 8,147 beneficiaries had been enrolled and would soon be given their wallet identity cards to access the fund.
She stated, “Government is starting with six local government areas (Ibeju-Lekki, Epe, Amuwo-Odofin, Apapa, Badagry and Lagos Island) which are 30 per cent of the local government areas in the state. From there, we will move to 70 per cent and then 100 per cent.
“They (Federal Government) actually started with the most indigent (people) according to the statistical rating of Lagos State; people who are not only poor but are living in blighted areas.
“The first enrollment was 8,147. It is a continuous process. We just finished another 5,865 and we are moving to do the enrollment. That is where we come in as a ministry. We enroll the beneficiaries for their wallet ID cards which they will use to access the N5,000.
“We were supposed to start giving out the wallet ID cards to the first batch of beneficiaries this week but it has been postponed till next week (from June 29). If we have households with a lot of children, we will give them extra N5,000. If there are pregnant people there, we will give them N15,000.”
When our correspondent requested the list of those already enrolled, the commissioner asked him to monitor the exercise in the six local government areas.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project in a tweet on Friday said failure by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development and Central Bank of Nigeria to provide names of beneficiaries of the COVID-19 funds was in violation of the Framework for the Management of COVID-19 Funds in Nigeria.
“The Framework for the Management of COVID-19 Funds in Nigeria put together by AGF (Attorney General of the Federation) and Finance Ministry states that ‘it is mandatory for all MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) to provide information on all COVID-19 Fund transactions to any member of the public under the FOI within seven days of receiving the request.
“The Framework also states that ‘failure to publish timely report of COVID-19 activities and spending in response to FOI request will constitute early warning signs of mismanagement and shall be deemed as contravention of this guideline,” the group wrote on its Twitter page, @SerapNigeria.
Commenting on the irregularities surrounding the COVID-19 palliatives in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, SERAP Executive Director, Mr Mumuni Adetokunbo, urged government to ensure transparency and probity “so that people entitled to palliatives will not have any cause to complain they didn’t get them.”
Source: PUNCH
