Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has flagged off the distribution of food items as a palliative measure to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal on residents of the state.

The Governor while speaking during the unveiling of the Lagos Food Bank Programme on Sunday at the Lagos House, Ikeja, said the programme aims to reach 500,000 vulnerable households in the state.

He affirmed that the programme is in addition to the palliative measures already put in place in the state transportation sector which has seen fares of state-owned transport systems slashed by 50 per cent.

“As a responsive government, we announced a number of measures aimed at ameliorating the effect of the policy on our people, most especially the vulnerable.

“These palliative measures which are already being implemented include a 50 percent reduction in transportation cost in the government-owned bus system and free health services for pregnant women in government hospitals among others.

“One of the measures which we announced and being formally flagged off today is the distribution of food items for vulnerable households through the Lagos Food Bank Programme.

“The strategic goal of this programme is to reach 500,000 vulnerable households in the state with staple food items,” the governor stated.

Adding that two methodologies will be adopted in distributing the food items: “bulk food items (50kg Rice, 50kg Garri and 100kg Beans) for groups, and food boxes (10kg Rice, 5kg Garri, and 5kg Beans) for individual vulnerable households.

“The distribution of the food items to vulnerable households will be done through groups, institutions, non-governmental organizations, community development committees, people living with disability, and the social protection department in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget using the social register of the vulnerable in the state.”