The Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, has called on Nigerians to rally behind President Bola Tinubu as he works to address the nation’s pressing socio-economic challenges.
Jibrin made the appeal on Sunday during the launch of a palliative distribution initiative aimed at supporting vulnerable communities across the seven states of the Northwest region. The event took place at the Meena Events Centre in Kano.
Speaking at the event, Jibrin emphasized the importance of national unity and support for the president, particularly during these challenging times. He noted that the hardships currently facing Nigerians are not unique to the country but are part of a global economic crisis exacerbated by ongoing conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
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“Whenever a country, anywhere in the world, is going through difficult times, the citizens rally around their leaders to enable them to address the challenges,” Jibrin said.
“In Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu came on board when there were wars and so many economic factors in many countries across the globe that had and still have negative effects on the nation’s economy.”
Jibrin praised the Tinubu administration for its efforts to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians, citing the distribution of palliatives, including rice and other food items, to the less privileged.
He explained that the federal government had restructured the distribution process to ensure that the aid reaches those most in need, following irregularities observed in previous efforts.
“The global economy is grossly affected by a lot of unfortunate events… It is this situation that makes the president fund programs that will alleviate the difficulties through the introduction of distribution of palliatives,” Jibrin stated.
He vowed to oversee the equitable distribution of these palliatives as the chairman of the committee for the Northwest sub-region.
Jibrin further highlighted the commitment of the federal government to ensure that the palliatives reach the grassroots, where they are most needed. He expressed confidence in the newly constituted committees tasked with overseeing the distribution across the Northwest region.
Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, who also spoke at the event, provided details on the palliative distribution, revealing that 23,644 bags of rice (25 kg each) were distributed to the needy in Kano on Sunday, with 19.3 trucks of rice allocated to the state.
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He added that Kano would also receive 70 trucks of rice at a subsidized rate, in addition to the free rice being distributed.
House of Representatives member Alhassan Ado Doguwa, representing Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency, lauded the transparency and timeliness of the distribution effort.
He described the initiative as “unprecedented” and called on the people of Kano to support President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 due to his people-oriented leadership.
Jibrin concluded by expressing his gratitude to President Tinubu for his dedication to alleviating the suffering of Nigerians and for the establishment of the Northwest Development Commission, which he said would bring significant benefits to the region, similar to the impact of the Niger Delta Development Commission in the South-South region.