The residents of Lagos state who are 60 years and above got text messages from the state government with regards to receiving a stimulus package but many of them thought it might be one of such random messages that might come from suspicious senders.
So, the State government had to issue a statement confirming that the messages forwarded to the residents were genuine and part of the measures put in place to reach the aged and vulnerable residents for whom the stimulus food package unveiled by the state government on Friday, 27th March, 2020 is meant for.
The stimulus, which comes in packs of raw food items, to be distributed to every local government in the state, is aimed at cushioning the effects of the 14 days lockdown directive by the state and federal governments.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, made the clarification in a statement made available to newsmen from his office, explaining that an SMS from the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) had been sent out to the aged, asking them to reply with a “YES,” “FOOD YES” or “SWITCH YES” if their registered home address with the Agency is still valid.
The commissioner noted that the Ministry of Agriculture was collaborating with LASRRA in order to be able to reach the targeted audience as well as ensure fairness and evenness in the distribution of the stimulus packages.
This was just as Lawal stressed the importance of each Lagos resident registering with the agency in order to assess social benefits like this in the future.
He, therefore, urged those concerned to quickly respond to the SMS, stressing that they had till midday 12:00 pm of Tuesday, March 31st 2020, being the cut off period, reiterating that as soon as all responses were collated, beneficiaries would start receiving their stimulus emergency food package from the state government.
