Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, on Monday, inaugurated a special committee on the sales of assorted food items to the people of the state at a 55 per cent discount.

In light of this, the governor said his government had procured food items and other essential commodities to be sold at a discounted price.

Speaking during the inauguration, the governor reiterated that the sales of the foodstuffs are meant for every resident of the state, irrespective of their political or ethnic differences.

He said his administration introduced various palliative methods to the people to address the effects of subsidy removal and the global economic meltdown.

Aliyu said, “We are all aware that since the inception of the present political dispensation, several economic upsets were witnessed nationally and internationally owing to the changing pattern of global economic indices and contraction of fortunes of the global finances.

“We are all living witness to the fact that numerous efforts in the form of palliatives were initiated and executed by both the federal and state governments to cushion the effect of the hardship.

“Considering the social indices of our state and certain peculiarities, the state government extended various palliatives of different commodities to all corners and cronies of the state free of charge and procured mass transit vehicles whose services were subsidised to ease transportation difficulties of our people within the state and beyond.

“In this new approach, the state government procured food items and other essential commodities meant to be sold at a 55 per cent discounted rate to enable families to access the commodities for the well-being of their members.

“The state government is committed to sustaining the supply of the commodities to all the 244 wards in the state with guaranteed access to all families irrespective of any social differences and/or political affiliations. I would like to assure all that the initiative will be sustained until the economic situation in the country improves.

The governor, however, called on all the well-to-do individuals and corporate bodies in the communities to, not only support the programme but also complement the efforts of the state government by extending the provision of such basic food items and other essential commodities to the needy and less-privileged in their communities.

In his remarks, the committee chairman, Chiso Dattijo, commended the governor on the move which he described as the right direction at the right time.

PUNCH