COVID-19: Disquiet over Makinde’s rejection of FG rice

Others may follow suit APC tackles gov   There is disquiet over Oyo State government’s rejection of consignment of rice donated to it to by the federal government to help cushion the effects of the new COVID-19 lockdown in the state. The state, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controlled state, had announced plan to return […]

• Others may follow suit

• APC tackles gov

 

There is disquiet over Oyo State government’s rejection of consignment of rice donated to it to by the federal government to help cushion the effects of the new COVID-19 lockdown in the state.

The state, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controlled state, had announced plan to return the 1,800 bags donation, claiming that the rice was already infested and not fit for human consumption.

The bags of rice were donated as part of the palliatives to cushion the effect of the lockdown occasioned by the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.

Though the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has slammed the Seyi Makinde-led government, accusing it of playing politics with the palliatives, there are fears that the rejection might have been a unanimous decision by the states.

Other states that benefitted from the rice the same day were Ondo, Osun and Ekiti.

But on Friday, Oyo State government disclosed that it was returning its share of the rice.

Debo Akande, an aide to Makinde on Agribusiness, said, “We received the items from the federal government via the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and we brought them here to the warehouse and it is in the process of further inspection, that we discovered that almost all the grains of rice had been infested by weevil and other pests.”

The APC in the state, however, tackled the government, saying other states did not reject the rice.

“The rejection of the rice palliative from the federal government did not come to Oyo State APC as a surprise because the Government of Oyo State under Engr. Seyi Makinde was not the only state that was given rice palliative but we know the rejection has political colouration,” APC Publicity Secretary AbdulAzeez Olatunde said.

But feelers from three other states indicated that it was the unanimous decision of the four states to reject the rice on the excuse that it was “weevil infested.”

One of the sources said, “The other states may also reject the rice like Oyo but they don’t want to appear confrontational with the FG for political reasons since they are all APC states.

“Others may not have come out publicly to say they are rejecting the rice but I can tell you they might end up rejecting it.”

Daily Trust reports that there was no issue with the bags of rice donated to Lagos and Ogun states as both states have been distributing the rice to their people.

In Ogun, the state government said the five trucks of rice delivered to the state were not infested with weevils contrary to Oyo State’s experience.

“No. There is nothing like that in Ogun State,” the Special Adviser to the Governor (Public Communications), Remmy Hazzan, told our correspondent on Sunday.

None of the officials of Ondo State government was ready to comment on the issue when contacted by one of our correspondents.

A source close to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu who is the Chairman of Western Nigerian Governors’ Forum, however, confirmed the development, saying the decision to reject the rice had been communicated to the federal government.

Commissioner for Information Donald Ojogo said he could not comment on it because he doesn’t have details.

However, the CPS to Osun State Governor, Mr Ismail Omipidan, confirmed receiving the rice from the FG but added that it was undergoing “quality control” checks.