By CHARLES IWUOHA

Residents of Ebonyi State over the weekend thronged Abakaliki and other parts of the state in search of COVID-19 relief packages purportedly hoarded by the State Government.

Sources told News Express in Abakaliki that security agents across the state have been keeping vigil to protect buildings suspected to be housing COVID-19 palliatives.

Since Wednesday, some youths, including married women and students besieged some buildings where they suspected the food items were kept.

Soldiers and anti-riot policemen shot into the air to disperse the people but many of them refused to leave, even when they were told that the warehouses are empty.

Further investigations by News Express revealed that videos of Nigerians who have invaded COVID-19 palliatives warehouses to loot food items in different states have gone viral on the social media.

The food items, it was gathered, were to be distributed to the poor and vulnerable in order to relieve them of the hardships caused by the COVID-19 lockdown.

Many people are still wondering why the food items were kept in warehouses until now when the lockdown is over.

Nigerians, on the social media, have been attacking governments for keeping the palliatives in warehouses instead of giving them out to the needy.

In Ebonyi State, there are widespread rumours that the state government is allegedly keeping the food items for loyalists of the Governor.

It was also alleged that the government diverted the palliatives so as to distribute same during the defection of the Governor to the All Progressives Congress (APC), a date of which is yet to be known.

Consequently, some youths in Abakaliki, Izzi, lkwo, and Ohaozara local government areas searching for where the said palliatives were stored.

It was learnt that they were also seen at the entrance of the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abakiliki, trying to scale a fence as they believe there are food items stored therein.

Neither the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Barr. Uchenna Orji, nor Governor Dave Umahi’s spokesman responded to WhatsApp messages sent to them.