By Abdulrahman Balarabe Isah
Some irate youths have invaded a private residence of the Kano Chief of Staff, Shehu Wada Sagagi, and looted hundreds of bags of rice, which were parts of the grains recently donated by the federal government to Kano State.
Grassroots Parrot gathered that the house located at Gandun Albasa in the Kano Municipal Local Government Area of the state was invaded by the angry protesters around 8 p.m. on Monday.
The bags of rice labeled “Federal Government Food Security Program” were part of the grains donated to the Kano State Government to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal among the poor and vulnerable residents.
A source told our correspondent who visited the area on Tuesday that the building was the Chief of Staff’s private residence before he relocated and converted it to an Islamiyya school called Wada Sagagi Islamic School.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had warned the committee vested with the responsibility of sharing the palliative to avoid any form of sabotage when he flagged off the distribution of the fourth round of the federal government palliatives recently.
“I would like to use this opportunity to call on both the Local Government Palliative Distribution Compliance Committee to adhere strictly to the guidelines stipulated for the distribution exercise in a transparent manner and with the view that the food items reach the target groups and individuals.
“At this juncture, let me make it very clear and a sound of warning that anybody, individually or collectively, that is found to have diverted a single bag of rice would be dealt with decisively and in accordance with the law of the land.
“I am saying this so that those who think that they can divert these items meant for vulnerable people should have a rethink on this. We will not allow, we will never ever condone any act of sabotage as far as the distribution is concerned,” the governor declared.” He said.
Reacting, the director of the Islamiyya school, Mukhtar Darma, confirmed the invasion and the eventual looting of the food items, including the rice and some bags of flour.
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He said the items were meant for the students of the school who are into the memorization of the holy Qur’an, as the Chief of Staff is responsible for their daily free feeding as a humanitarian gesture.
According to him, since the inception of the school, Sagagi has been footing the bills of every student, including feeding during school hours, books, and uniforms.
When contacted, Shehu Wada Sagagi admitted that the looted 25 kg bags of rice at his residence were part of the federal government items donated to the state.
He however denied the allegation of diverting the food items. He claimed that the state government had approved that some of the palliatives be donated to some schools across the state.
According to him, with that approval, the Qur’an memorization school qualifies to benefit from the palliatives.