Ondo Residents Fault N5,000 Chicken Subsidy

Residents of Ondo State have expressed combined reactions to the state authorities’s resolution to promote complete frozen chickens for N5,000, with some describing the initiative as useful whereas others known as for broader measures to handle the rising value of residing.

LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered that the subsidised sale being carried out via the Ondo State Agribusiness Empowerment Centre (OSAEC) commenced on October 21 as a part of efforts to ease the burden of rising meals costs and enhance entry to reasonably priced protein.

Under the initiative, every frozen hen weighing between 1.3kg and 1.6kg is being offered for N5,000, beneath prevailing market costs, which the federal government mentioned vary from N6,500 to N7,000 per kilogram in lots of markets.

However, Mrs Ruth Ademola questioned the impression of the intervention, arguing that the price of shopping for and making ready the hen remained past the attain of many households struggling to fulfill primary wants.

“Is chicken what will solve our problem? Is it not someone who has money that will buy chicken? Let us even assume I am able to squeeze out N5,000; is it only chicken I will eat? What about the ingredients to use in cooking it? What about the gas that I will use?” she requested.

Ademola urged the federal government to concentrate on enhancing the financial system and guaranteeing that residents may afford primary requirements fairly than counting on what she described as momentary interventions.

‎‎“The government should make our economy work and ensure that everyone is able to afford the basic necessities, not all these temporary measures that they are throwing about,” she mentioned.

‎‎Another resident, Mr Alaba Egunjobi, described the initiative as a good suggestion, significantly with Christmas approaching, when many households historically embrace hen of their celebrations.

‎‎However, he mentioned the federal government wanted to do extra to handle the broader financial pressures confronting residents, noting that the N5,000 worth remained unaffordable for some households.

‎‎“Not everyone can afford that N5,000. Government should work more on reducing the high cost of living. That is what I need the most, and I believe that is what almost everyone will want as well,” Egunjobi mentioned.

‎‎He added that the rising value of residing was affecting wage earners, arguing that the minimal wage was inadequate to cowl even the feeding and primary wants of a person, not to mention a whole household.

‎‎Mr Promise Ado questioned the federal government’s motive, suggesting that the initiative was extra politically motivated than a sustainable response to the financial hardship dealing with residents.

‎“The government knows what they are doing. Instead of making life easier for people, they are handing out peanuts, especially now that the election is drawing closer, so that people will see them as a saint,” he mentioned.

‎‎Explaining the rationale behind the initiative, OSAEC Chairman, Hon. Rotimi Wemimo Akinsola, mentioned the programme was being carried out on behalf of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to scale back the monetary strain on households and enhance entry to reasonably priced protein.

‎‎“Families are feeling the pressure of rising food prices. We want every household in Ondo State to be able to afford quality protein, so we are selling full chickens at a subsidised rate of N5,000,” Akinsola mentioned.

‎‎He mentioned the initiative shaped a part of OSAEC’s broader mandate to advertise meals safety, strengthen agribusiness improvement and enhance entry to reasonably priced meals throughout the state.