Pyramids of Lies: PDP Gives Name to Buhari's Rice Unveiling in Abuja
- The Peoples Democratic Party has mocked the All Progressives Congress and the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government
- According to the opposition party, the launching is another shameless media stunt to deceive Nigerians
- The national publicity secretary of the party, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, disclosed this in a statement released to journalists
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The unveiling of rice pyramids in Abuja by President Muhammadu Buhari has been mocked by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Channels TV reports.
According to PDP, the unveiling can be best described as ‘pyramids of lies.’
PDP disclosed this in a statement signed by the national publicity secretary Debo Ologunagba.
He said the All Progressives Congress staged a media stunt to beguile Nigerians ahead of the 2023 elections, PM News added.
Source: Facebook
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The statement read in part:
“Of course, there is nothing to celebrate in the APC pyramid of lies in Abuja. It is rather shameful that APC leaders are again ridiculing President Muhammadu Buhari by making him unveil pyramids of allegedly imported foreign rice which are re-bagged as locally produced, just to create an impression of a boost in local production under his watch.
“If indeed, there is a boost in the local production of rice as the APC wants Nigerians to believe, how come the price of rice has not come down but continues to soar from about N8,000 per bag which the PDP handed over to the APC in 2015 to about N30,000 per bag today?”
2million metric tones of rice smuggled into Nigeria annually
Legit.ng previously reported that despite heightened security by the Nigerian Customs at the nation’s land borders, the activities of smuggling lingers.
The Senate committee on agriculture said two million metric tonnes of rice are smuggled into the country annually.
Speaking at a stakeholders' meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, Muhammad Enagi, vice-chairman of the committee, said the smuggled rice is part of the 6.7 million metric tonnes consumed annually in the country.
Dollar rise to blame for the high cost of rice
Meanwhile, the president of Nigerian Rice Farmers Association, Aminu Goronyo, blamed the rise in dollar and weakened naira for the high cost of locally produced rice.
Goronyo said as the dollar rate keeps rising over the years, farmers have had to spend more on fertilizers, and as the cost of production increases, the cost of rice is expected to go up as well.
In 2015, a bag of rice was about N7,500, but five years later, the cost of the grain has risen to about N30,000 in 2021 - rising by 300% within the period.
Source: Legit.ng
