Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, has flagged off the distribution of 90,000 bags of 100kg assorted grains to vulnerable households across the state’s 34 local government areas, directing officials to ensure a fair, transparent and accountable distribution.
The exercise, launched in Kaita Local Government Area, is aimed at providing immediate relief to families facing economic hardship while complementing the state government’s longer-term measures to strengthen food production and household livelihoods.
Governor Radda said the intervention reflected his administration’s commitment to ensuring that government programmes reached communities at the grassroots.
“Development must reach the grassroots, and the people must feel the presence and impact of government in their communities and daily lives,” he said.
The governor said the latest distribution was part of a broader programme of support for vulnerable residents. He recalled that the administration had previously provided food items and financial assistance to women engaged in Koko and Kosai businesses across the state’s 361 wards during Ramadan.
He also cited assistance provided to 7,220 widows, with 20 beneficiaries selected from each ward and supported with a 25kg bag of rice and ₦10,000 cash.
Radda further acknowledged the contribution of the Aliko Dangote Foundation to food relief efforts in Katsina, noting that the foundation had distributed rice to vulnerable residents across the state.
The governor said Katsina had also previously distributed another 90,000 bags of grains, comprising 30,000 bags each of millet, maize and guinea corn.
According to him, lessons from the previous exercise had enabled the government to strengthen its grassroots distribution mechanism through the Community Level Committees (CLCs).
“The objective is not simply to distribute more, but to distribute better—to improve targeting, strengthen accountability and ensure that government support reaches those for whom it is intended,” Radda said.
The governor directed officials responsible for the exercise to ensure that the grains were distributed without discrimination, warning that personal relationships, social status or other interests must not deprive deserving citizens of the intervention.
He charged local government councils, traditional and religious leaders, CLCs and other stakeholders to ensure that the exercise was conducted peacefully and transparently.
Radda said priority should be given to vulnerable households, including widows, elderly persons, persons with disabilities, low-income families and other citizens in need.
The State Coordinator of the Community Development Programme, Kamaladden Kabir, said the CDP’s structures across the 361 wards would play a key role in identifying beneficiaries and ensuring that the grains reached those genuinely in need.
He warned against the diversion, hoarding or sale of the grains, saying the exercise would be monitored and properly documented.
Radda stressed that food palliatives could only provide temporary relief and could not constitute a permanent solution to food insecurity.
He said his administration was therefore pursuing a two-pronged strategy: providing immediate assistance to vulnerable households while investing in agriculture, irrigation, community development, youth empowerment and women’s economic participation.
The governor said the government had supported farmers with subsidised fertiliser and other agricultural inputs, while expanding irrigation through solar- and petrol-powered pumps, tube wells and other interventions.
“These investments are deliberately designed to strengthen food production because the most sustainable response to food insecurity is to empower our farmers to produce more food, reduce the cost of production, create rural employment and improve household incomes,” he said.
He assured residents that the government would continue to invest in agriculture, education, healthcare, water supply, community infrastructure, youth development and women’s empowerment.
“Our vision is a productive Katsina State where farmers prosper, young people find opportunities, women participate meaningfully in the economy, and vulnerable citizens receive the support they need,” he said.
Commissioner for Special Duties, Zainab Musa Musawa, said the intervention would provide free maize, millet, sorghum and rice to beneficiaries across the state, describing it as a response to rising food prices and the difficulties facing vulnerable households.
The Chairman of Kaita Local Government, Bello Lawal, and the District Head of Kaita, Sarkin Sullubawan Katsina, Alhaji Yazeed Abdulkarim Kabir Usman, commended the intervention and urged stakeholders to ensure peaceful and transparent distribution.
The APC State Chairman, Dr Bashir Gambo Saulawa, also described the programme as another demonstration of the administration’s commitment to improving the welfare of Katsina residents.