Amid controversy surrounding the purported conditional cash transfer to the poorest households in their local government, traditional rulers in Ona-Ara Local Government Area of Oyo State have challenged the Federal Government.
Some residents of the local government also staged a protest to express their grievances over the controversial cash transfer to the poorest households.
Recall that the Federal Government had last week announced payment of the conditional cash transfer to the poorest households in the country as a palliative measure for increase in the number of people who tested positive for the Coronavirus.
The residents of the local government, however, staged a protest to demand the names of the beneficiaries of the money transfer in the council.
The leader of the Federal Government delegation to the state, Mr. Oyekola Oladipo disclosed on a popular radio station in Ibadan that the traditional leaders were aware of the process of the selected beneficiaries of the palliative measure.
The Oniladuntan of Laduntan land, Oba Adebowale Adeyemi (JP) in Ona Ara Local Government and Baale of Akanran in the same council, Baale Toheeb Alawaye told reporters on Thursday in Ibadan that none of their subjects benefited from the Federal Government’s gesture.
Oba Adeyemi said: “We don’t know anything about it and we are yet to see anyone in our council to confirm to us that they benefited from the money.
The man said on the radio that we were all carried along before disbursement of the cash, but I want to tell the whole world that we are not aware and none of our people has received the money.
“If the Federal Government really means to support the poor, community leaders shouldn’t be exempted. We know those who are extremely poor in our locality and with their monitoring team; we know how to distribute it. But as they have done it now, they can only tell us those who get it,” he said.
Baale Alawaye said people were not happy to hear that they were given money, when they didn’t get money from the government.
He said: “We don’t know the people who were given the money in Ona-ara Local Government. When we heard that Baales were the ones that gave them the names of the indigent people in our local government, we were surprised because it was a lie. They didn’t give any of our people money in this council.
“Our people trooped out to check those who received the money at the Ona-Ara Local Government guest house when they heard the news.
But we could not see anyone at the guest house. That was why they protested. We are surprised to hear that money was disbursed,” he said.