Private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 Foundation (CACOVID) has acquitted the Kwara State government of allegations made against it to the effect of hoarding COVID-19 palliatives.
CACOVID described claims that the Kwara State government diverted or hoarded the palliatives meant for the vulnerable households in the state as false and unsubstantiated, noting no less than 15 of the 16 local governments had benefited before the store was looted.
The palliatives, which were majorly foodstuffs, were donated across the country including Kwara State by the CACOVID Foundation as part of its support for the Nigerian governments to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking on a live programme on Midland FM in Ilorin, CACOVID representative in Kwara State, Taoheed Adewale Fasasi applauded the Kwara State government for what he called “excellent performance” in the distribution of the COVID-19 palliatives.
“In terms of distribution of the palliatives, it’s been an excellent performance for Kwara State especially in terms of three key things. One, identification of the beneficiaries. We’ve always feared that this could be where there will be problem because we don’t want it to get to the wrong hands. But they (state government) have been able to come up with lists that come directly from the grassroots. And, with this, we know how many families that were given. We have recordings of how many families that were given.
“We were in Jebba (Moro, Kwara North), for instance, and it was not just about distribution, we saw the families. We know where they are and what they do and things like that. The distribution was not hidden. It was more or less like CACOVID handing over to the beneficiaries. The assistance from the (state) committee has been wonderful.”
Fasasi said the monitoring and evaluation team of CACOVID was on the field to ensure that the palliatives got to the right persons across the state, asserting that its reports do not support the claims that the government hoarded the palliatives.
“It is not just about handing over to the state but ensuring that it gets to where it is supposed to get to. We always have a monitoring team. Apart from being a member, I have a monitoring team that’s also checking me at every point in time. It is CACOVID’s way of doing things. As the state committee was getting it out, we were interacting with the beneficiaries. We have the videos. We went there based on those identified,” he added.