By: Yomi Agbaje

Contrary to a wide speculation of 30,000 beneficiaries, diligent independent investigation has revealed that only 5000 persons benefited from the palliative and total money spent is paltry N4 million. Where sails the rest fund released to cushion the harsh effects of the petroleum subsidy removal on the vulnerable?

While this show of lies and shame was going on, attempts by concerned indigenes to record the event were rebuffed and met with violent resistance from the Chairman as she went about collecting and breaking their telephone sets. No camera was allowed into the venue of the event record proceedings as security also barred use of similar devices for the same purpose.

Princess Surah Animashaun disgraced Epe Local Government by the reason of a charade she put up and called distribution of palliative. What a shame! First, you collected fund from the state and bolted overseas to cool your heels, and after your usual overseas jamboree on the expenses of the Local Government and at the expense of the good people of Epe, you came back to dish out austere palliative to your people. That's pathetic! And nothing could be more worrisome than to see people queue up for feed only meant for dogs in the mangers. Even dogs feed on better diet than what we witnessed handed to the good but poor people of Epe.

How can you give people 4 eggs, 1 yam tuber,  3 fish, 4 cups of rice and garri as a palliative? And where one got rice, they wouldn't get garri and where one got both by chance, they wouldn't get yam. Everything was alternated. That's supposed to be full-day meal for a family of four, on a good day. Then, after the food stuff is exhausted, what next? Back to square one like we say. We are not all blind to what other local governments gave out to their people, even our sister local government areas - Eredo and Ikosi LCDAs - put up better showings. We expected Epe Local Government to do more than the rest despite even coming late. The rest of the Local Governments have done theirs in July. 

The Chairman had through one of her paid media boys, Idris Olukoya, claimed that 30,000 benefitted from the palliative - a story they failed to back up with pictures or videos. At least, we all saw the 5,000 crowd of Eredo LCDA on the day they distributed their palliative compared to our own '30,000' crowd in Epe LG. This same Idris Olukoya later came up with a clever-by-half defence of his claims that the first batch was 3,000 and that the Chairman has designed the distribution of palliative in batches till it gets to 30,000 beneficiaries. Haba, fear God! Whereas the Chairman's media aide, one "Prof. Olawale" admitted it was 5,000 beneficiaries they were able to reach out to. So, who is fooling who? And why are they claiming to have given what they did not give, in the first instance?

Madam Chairman the Federal Government is releasing monthly palliatives fund not to be done instalmentally but monthly. Know it. Since we know, we won't allow you to do otherwise. The palliative you did on Monday is from July's fund and you are claiming it's from August. You owe Epe people August palliative and it must be done as soon as possible, if not we will drag you to court for stealing palliative fund that belongs to the people and for not doing it at the stipulated time. You did not only embarrass yourself with the handling of the palliative fund, but also embarrassed all of us with the nonsense that went down that day, which you call palliative.

It would have been an honourable thing if you had provided something more meaningful for 5,000 people than the lies you paid Idris to distribute as palliative. Epe indigenes and residents, both home and in the diaspora, are watching. I accused Idris Olukoya of posting fabricated news, eulogizing your administration. Have you ever wondered why Eredo LCDA is not using him and why is he trying to die on your neck? Why is he not posting Eredo laudable palliative programmes? At least, he is from Eredo and so we expect him to write about his LCDA. He couldn't do that because money is not involved. A miscreant should not come and tell us what is happening in our Local Government Area.

We can see and we can hear well. We will write the Governor, House of Assembly and other stakeholders soon about your failed administration. No infrastructure development, no meaningful programmes to run with. You have relegated your Councilors and Supervisory Councillors to dummies in the council. You know it all and do it all by yourself, not even a drainage for them to go and do in their wards. They are absolute figure-heads earning salaries for doing nothing. This same administration of yours boasted to have purchased 100 GCE forms for residents; I later got to know that only 50 GCE forms were purchased and given out.

Our Chairman left the country to attend a social function overseas with her new husband and claimed to have gone for training; we saw pictures of you on a foreign land. Why don't you post pictures of the training you attended and the certificate you  received? You came back and hastily planning to hold a town hall meeting with the youth because you are scared they are beginning to yell and become unruly in their demand for better governance.

This is a meeting you never held for once and the youth you never wanted to see. You never supported their cause despite many letters to your administration asking for support in ant form. Stop being selfish! Bring people on board, to share new and brilliant ideas with you. Stop believing you know it all as no man is an Island. Your councilors can't talk because they don't want to be quoted so they prefer to tell you "I support you". Sycophancy! That's all you want to hear. You cut off all their benefits, leaving them to dry in the windy and sunny weather. Madam, why now? The world is asking: why now?

Writes in by Agbaje for Movement of Epe division