Professor Zulum and his officials

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State is now targeting 400,000 families for palliatives, a departure from the 300,000 original aim.

On 1 August, Zulum had launched a new phase of palliatives distribution, announced a target of 300,000 households each with six persons which will multiply 1.8 million individuals. As reported by The Star, the Governor, while inaugurating the distribution of the palliatives to 100,000 vulnerable households in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Monday, August 21, 2023, said he has raised his initial target to 400,000 households.

He said: “Today we are here to distribute palliative to 100,000 vulnerable households under the Presidential Initiative, this is in addition to the 300,000 households Borno State Government had rolled out early this month.

“You may recall that the federal government has announced N5 billion to all states and with that amount we intend to reach an additional 100,000 vulnerable families.”

Governor Zulum added that the presidential initiative was a collaboration between the federal government, states, and local governments.

The federal government, he noted, is granting 52 per cent of the total amount while the state and local governments will refund 48 per cent of the amount.

Zulum, however, expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his timely support to state governments, saying Nigerians in the long term will benefit from the president’s policies and programmes.

He said the fuel subsidy removal despite the short-term difficulties would be seen as a stepping stone towards broader economic reforms aimed at promoting sustainable development in Nigeria.

Since July 2023, Zulum accelerated palliatives to mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices on the lives of citizens.

The palliatives were so far distributed at Gwoza, Kukawa, Jere, and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council to thousands of families benefiting.

The deputy governor of Borno State, Umar Usman Kadafur, on Monday, flagged off a similar distribution in Biu town.