LCDA’s food bank initiative not electoral inducement, says Lagos LG

The Chairman of Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development Area, Lagos State, Adetola Abubakar.

The Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development Area of Lagos State has said its Adetola Food Bank initiative is not an electoral inducement but a sustained social welfare programme aimed at supporting vulnerable residents.

The council stated this in a statement signed by its Chief Press Secretary, Moses Akande, on Saturday, following public reactions to The PUNCH report on the recent distribution of food items to 1,000 households.

According to the statement, the initiative, which was the second edition, was introduced by the Executive Chairman of the council, Adetola Abubakar, and was aimed at the welfare and long-term development of residents.

The council said the intervention was designed as part of its social safety net and was not a sporadic or politically motivated gesture.

It said, “For the avoidance of doubt, the administration’s social welfare programmes are structured, continuous interventions designed to support vulnerable residents, rather than sporadic or politically motivated gestures.”

According to the statement, the social palliative programmes are implemented on a sustained basis to cushion the effects of prevailing economic realities on elderly citizens, widows, low-income families and persons living with disabilities across the council’s seven wards.

The council maintained that the Adetola Food Bank was neither a one-off event nor an electoral inducement, describing it as a critical component of its administration’s social safety net.

It said the second edition, tagged Adetola Food Bank 2.0, was an expansion of its long-term commitment to ensuring that vulnerable residents were not left behind.

“Governance with empathy requires continuous presence, and Phase 2.0 expands on a long-term commitment to ensure that no vulnerable resident in Agboyi-Ketu is left behind.

“The Adetola Food Bank is neither a one-off event nor an electoral inducement; it is an institutionalized pillar of our administration’s social safety net,” the statement added.

The council also noted that food relief was only one component of its broader developmental agenda, which included infrastructure upgrades, community security, youth empowerment, education and primary healthcare support.

It added that Abubakar remained committed to transparent, responsive and people-centred governance focused on the welfare and long-term development of residents.