FG’s N5bn Palliative: Seyi Makinde sharing rice, maize? Oyo govt reacts

Government sources have dismissed the viral claim about authorities sharing palliatives.

A message alleging that the Oyo state government was sharing palliatives recently went viral on WhatsApp.

The message claimed that the government asked residents to check their eligibility online with respect to President Bola Tinubu's N5 billion subsidy removal palliative to states.

The WhatsApp message contained a link where Oyo state residents were requested to check if they were eligible to benefit from the initiative. The message comes amid the revelation that the N5 billion palliative approved by the federal government to each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was for the purchase of rice and maize for distribution to the poor and vulnerable.

It read: “WELCOME TO FG 5BN oyo (sic) STATE PALLIATIVE. Check now if you are among the selected people to receive this palliative from the Federal Government of Nigeria. CHECK NOW https://Inkshk.com/5BN-OYO-STATE-PALLIATIVE.”

Now, according to a fact-checking platform, Dubawa, Oladayo Ogunbowale, a media aide to Governor Seyi Makinde, told citizens to be wary of fake news.

His words: “While the official information from the Palliative Committee is only from the Hon Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, I can confidently confirm that no online registration portal/platform has been designated by the Committee or Oyo State government.

"It is fake, and people are advised to desist from sharing such message on any platform”.

Similarly, when contacted, two Oyo State Palliative Committee members on Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery, labelled the claim false.

Jide Bamgbose said: “It is fake. Please tell our people not to fall victim.”

Another committee member, Ademola Babalola, the chairman of the Oyo state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), asked the public to disregard it.

Babalola wrote: “It is fake news."