Paul Orude, Bauchi
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Honorable Yakubu Dogara, has donated food items to members of his constituency in Bauchi to cushion the effects of the partial lockdown of the State to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The chairman of the 23-man distribution committee set up by the Speaker, Honorable Aminu Tukur, said the targeted beneficiaries include the poor, physically challenged and widows in Tafawa Balewa/Dass/Bogoro Federal Constituency.
Tukur listed the items donated by Dogara to include 3200 bags of 10 kilogramme of rice, 3200 bags of 10-kilogramme maize flour, 100 bags of sugar and 600 packs of spaghetti.
Tukur, a former lawmaker in the Bauchi State House of Assembly who represented Lere/Bula constituency, explained that a sharing formula had been approved by the former Speaker for the distribution of the items among the three local governments of Tafawa Balewa, Dass and Bogoro.
He said that the Muslim community would get 60, and the Christian community 40 per cent, respectively, while the sugar is meant for the Muslim community in the constituency because of the on-going Ramadan.
Tukur said that 50, 30, and 15 per cent were allotted for the Muslim community in Tafawa Balewa, Dass and Bogoro local government, respectively, while 5 per cent would be given to the Ulamas (Islamic clerics).
For the Christian community, Tukur disclosed that 50, 30 and 20 per cent would benefit in Bogoro, Tafawa Balewa and Dass, respectively.
Expressing their separate gratitude to the former Speaker in their votes of thanks, Dr Yakubu Yahaya, (Bogoro), Yahuza Daniel (Tafawa Balewa) and Ya’u Yusuf (Dass) appreciated Dogara for remembering his people at a time of difficulty, saying the gesture would ameliorate their hardship.