The presidency has blamed logistic delays for a N57.8 billion food package it is yet to account for.

Olusegun Dada, President Bola Tinubu’s special assistant on social media, said the president shared rice and food palliatives to Nigerians through governors and federal legislators. After questions were raised about the silence of senators and representatives over billions in palliative, Olusegun claimed there was a delay.

“The President, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, only distributed rice and other food items as palliatives and sort of Constituency Projects worth N100 million per Federal Constituency and N200 million per Senatorial Constituency,” a post on X read in part on Sunday.

READ ALSO: Ogun CDA Chair Blasts Dapo Abiodun for Asking 142 Homes to Share a Bag of Rice as Palliative

Clarification on the distributed NASS palliatives by the Presidency during the festive period:

– President Tinubu did not give cash to the National Assembly members as palliatives to the people in the constituencies and senatorial districts.

– The President through the Federal… https://t.co/TcIXzfi7Fx

— Office of the SA on Social Media to PBAT🇳🇬 (@Dolusegun16) January 7, 2024

Palliatives worth N100 million and N200 million for 360 representatives and 109 senators, respectively, amount to N57,800,000,000.

Although the presidency has claimed that it is giving food items, not the cash equivalent, many constituents have pointed out how billions can be embezzled through the programme.

Were Lagos State legislators not given. Why is Lagos silent

— Tommy01 (@Esivuae) January 4, 2024

We need to set up distribution systems and foodbank warehouses in each Ward of Nigeria. We need a Walmarts/ Woolworts kind distribution system in Nigeria. The president can initiate and implement this. Nigeria needs this to control food inflation and stop price gorging

— Victor Abisoye (@olusegini) January 7, 2024

The President should have engage service of private logistics companies to distribute the pallative house to house in each local government and taking feed back from landlord association. Some of these rep or senator will divert the items and sold it.

— Readsem CEO (@ojooluwadareem1) January 7, 2024

“The President should have engaged the services of private logistics companies to distribute the pallative house to house in each local government and take feedback from landlord associations. Some of these reps or senators will divert the items and sell them,” Ojo Oluwadare opined.

READ ALSO: REPORTER’S DIARY: At GIGM, Young Shall Grow I Looked in Vain for FG’s 50 Transport Palliative

The presidency had also stated that it shared bags of rice to state governors in December.

In another conflicting statement, Hope Uzodinma, the Governor of Imo State, said that the rice Tinubu gave his state was not a government intervention. Uzodinma told members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) this on Tuesday at the CAN secretariat in Owerri during the flag-off ceremony for the distribution of rice to the five south-east states.

The Imo State governor said that Tinubu gave the state governors the rice palliatives as a personal gift.

The Tinubu-led administration prescribed palliative programmes worth over N300 billion within its first six months. Citizens have, however, expressed more concerns about embezzlement of funds due to a lack of transparency in the delivery of palliatives to them.