COVID-19: Benue state govt rejects FG’s rice donation

- Another state has rejected the rice gift of the federal government

- The Benue state government says the rice is not fit for consumption

- Oyo, Ondo and Rivers states had earlier rejected trailer loads of rice from the federal government

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!

The Benue government has rejected the three trailers load of rice donated by the ministry for humanitarian Affairs as COVID-19 palliatives for the state.

Officials of the state government said the deliveries were no longer fit for human consumption.

Chairman of the State Emergency Committee on COVID-19 and Benue state deputy governor, Benson Abounu told journalists that the rice has expired and would be returned to the federal government.

He said the state spent about N2 million to purchase the bags of rice.

He further stated that even though the bags of rice had been taken to the three senatorial zones, the government has decided to return them to the ministry of humanitarian affairs.

“Government cannot afford to risk the health of its citizen by given them expired rice to eat,” said Abounu.

Recall that the Oyo state government on Friday, April 24, made a U-turn on the quality of palliatives received from the federal government and declared that the items are in bad condition.

The southwest state had attested to the items that were delivered to the state through the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Monday, April 20.

Dr Debo Akande, the executive assistant to the governor on Agribusiness disclosed this after taking newsmen round the warehouse where the donated were stored.

Akande said the three trailer loads of rice totalling 1,800 bags have been infested with weevil and cannot be consumed by humans.

The state government noted it would be expecting a replacement for the bad rice that was delivered.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

Similarly, Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, has told residents that he rejected palliatives from the Federal Government because it insulted the state.

Wike made the allegation in a televised press conference where he said the state was also not contacted on what it needed.

According to Wike, the trailer load of rice offered by the federal government was also not fit for human consumption.

The governor said: “You can’t just send rice to us without asking if that is what we want. Rivers people prefer garri to rice. In fact, the rice is expired.”

In the same vein, the Ondo state government is allegedly set to return some bags of rice from the 1,800 bags sent to the state by the federal government on the grounds that they have expired.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu ordered the return of some bags of rice sent to the state by the ministry of humanitarian affairs and disaster management as they were found to have expired.

Coronavirus: Warri residents lament effect of pandemic| Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng