The Federal Government has commenced the distribution of foodstuffs to Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) and other vulnerable persons in Edo State, as part of efforts to support food security and social inclusion.
The exercise was flagged off on Monday, February 2026, at the Army Salvation, Benin Rehabilitation Centre, by Patricia Imade, the Edo State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Food and Security.
Imade, while distributing over 500 bags of processed garri to the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), described the intervention as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
She explained that the empowerment initiative, implemented under the Renewed Hope National Accelerated Garri Production Programme, would also be extended to correctional centres, vulnerable women and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across the state.
According to her, the programme is designed to reach the less privileged and ensure that vulnerable groups are not excluded from government interventions.
“This empowerment is a kind of rescue mission for some persons with disabilities and the vulnerable,” Imade said.
“The federal government wants them to know that they are part of the government and that they are not left out in the scheme of events being done by the federal government,” she added.
Imade further stated that the distribution was being carried out through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
“Through the Honourable Minister of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture here in Edo State, we have decided to distribute this 5kg bag of processed garri to those living with disabilities,” she said.
“It is a flag off. We are reaching out to those living with disabilities, vulnerable women groups and correctional centres in Edo State,” Imade noted.
She disclosed that JONAPWD comprises several clusters, including the visually impaired and other disability groups.
“There are so many clusters in JONAPWD such as the visually impaired among others. So we are reaching out to all of them,” she said.
While revealing that over 2,000 bags of processed garri have been earmarked for distribution, Imade assured beneficiaries of continued Federal Government empowerment programmes.
On his part, the Edo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Jerry Uwangue, commended the Federal Government for the initiative, noting that the Governor Monday Okpebholo-led administration had aligned with several federal programmes.
Uwangue, represented by Princewill Idemudia, Manager of the Edo State Agricultural Development Programme, said the state government remains open to partnerships that promote empowerment.
“We are always willing to key into any initiative like this that the federal government is doing through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security,” he said.
“I will tell you today that under the leadership of Senator Monday Okpebholo, he is ready and always willing to drive a governance of all inclusiveness, as he is taking responsibility for both the able-bodied and the physically challenged,” he added.
Also speaking, Ime Akpan, Administrator of the Army Salvation, Benin Rehabilitation Centre, Sylvester Oshiovue, a representative of JONAPWD, and Lucky Imafidon, State Chairman, Association of the Blind, lauded the gesture.
