COVID-19 report uncovers 700, 000 vulnerable households in FCT

The FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, said the validation of the social register has identified over 700, 000 vulnerable households in the territory.

The minister, who made this revelation during the presentation of a scorecard of the palliative distribution by a coalition of COVID-19 Civil Society Organisations Emergency Intervention Group, however, said the administration would not wait for any emergency before reaching out to the vulnerable.

“This can serve as a guide to what we need to do further. With the pandemic in place, we were able to work harder, we found that the social register was validated. Today, we have over 700, 000 vulnerable households, because during the time of the pandemic, we used the definition of vulnerability to mean the very poor in the hinterland, those that are not earning anything from government revenue and without a source of income.

“But later, it was clear to us that there is more. Even the so called salary earners became vulnerable due to COVID-19 and the pressure of the lockdown. And that brought about the new template. God willing, we can boast that the Federal Capital Territory is used as a standard to other states,” a statement by the minister’s media aide, Mr. Austin Elemue, said.

On his part, the FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola, thanked the civil society groups for not abandoning the administration in times of need, stressing that the report would not only inspire the Minister of State, but the entire administration.

“We must join hands to build the territory of our dreams. You cannot walk with one leg, you need the two legs to walk. If you have abandoned the distribution of the palliative, nobody would have believed that palliative was distributed because we live in an era where nobody believes anything. But you are our testimonial, you have spoken,” he added.

In her presentation, the National Coordinator, COVID-19 CSOs Emergency Intervention Group, Dr. Jophia Nanker Gupar, said though, the palliative did not get to everybody, every community in the territory received the palliative.

She thanked the administration for the opportunity to serve the rural people and to participate especially in an intervention programme.