The Federal Government has approved N5bn for each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enable them to procure food items for distribution to the poor in their respective states.

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State disclosed this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.

Thursday’s development comes in the wake of the hike in the cost of food items, and petroleum owing to the removal of subsidy on the commodity.

In addition to the fund, Zulum said the Federal Government also released five trucks of rice each to the 36 state governors.

Explaining further, Governor Zulum said the state governors are to procure 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize, and fertilizers.

He noted that 52 per cent of the funds were given to the state governments as grants with 48 per cent as loans.

It set up a committee, made up of the Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo; the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Governor AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman of Kwara State among others, tasked with the responsibility of engaging with the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over the latter’s push for palliatives due to the subsidy removal.

Asides from the economic difficulties facing Nigeria in the wake of the subsidy removal, NEC also discussed security issues especially recent attacks in the northern parts of the country.

Apart from Governor Zulum, Vice President Kashim Shettima, who chaired it, governors and other stakeholders were at the meeting.

Members of NEC have been deliberating on measures to cushion the impact of the subsidy removal.

NEC’s most recent meeting is coming hours after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited secured a $3 billion Emergency Crude Repayment Loan from African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) Bank.