Group protests in Osun, urges FG to release withheld grants

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

Members of the advocacy group, Grant Community Decide Movement (GCDM), staged a peaceful protest in Osun State, calling on the Federal Government to urgently release long-delayed grants meant for Nigerians, as hardship continues to bite.

Speaking with journalists in Osogbo on Friday, the national women leader of the movement, Ambassador Deborah Kolawole, said the grants, aimed at alleviating the suffering of the masses, had been delayed for over ten years.

Kolawole noted that the renewed agitation followed directives from the national president of GCDM, Rev. Moses Tekka Chojji, who has led several efforts, including a national press conference, to push for the release of the funds.

Also, the south-west zonal chairman of the group, Comrade Famodimu Olajide, expressed frustration over what he described as repeated delays and unfulfilled promises, noting that the group had made several appeals, including a visit to Bourdillon House in Lagos in an attempt to meet with President Bola Tinubu, adding, “We have cried, we have begged. We are tired of the ‘this week, next week’ syndrome.”

Also speaking, the deputy administrator of GCDM in Osun State, Comrade Omigbodun Motuntayo, said they staged the protest to demand the release of the grants, which she alleged had been held in the Central Bank of Nigeria for the past decade.

Motuntayo added that the protest had been taken to key government institutions, including the Osun State Government Office and the Osun State House of Assembly, to amplify the demand and ensure that the voices of residents are heard at the federal level.

The Osun State secretary of the movement, Alhaji Akeem Oyekunle, urged the federal government to show compassion by facilitating the immediate release of the funds, listing some of the affected grants as the Pioneer Grant, United African Alliance Grant (UAAG), St Rita, Theobath, Supreme and Mid-West grants.

Meanwhile, the youth leader of GCDM in the state, Mr John Jegede, recalled that the grant initiative began in 2016, noting that its release would significantly reduce youth restiveness and promote productivity.