The Oyo state government has announced plans to return the 1800 bags of rice the Federal government donated to the state as palliatives to cushion the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
Dr Debo Akande, the executive assistant on Agribusiness to governor Seyi Makinde, explained that the 1,800 bags of rice from the Federal Government were infested with weevil and not suitable for consumption.
The bags of rice were received from the Federal government on Monday April 20th as palliatives.
“We received these items from the Federal Government via the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development and we brought them to the warehouse. It was in the process of further inspection that we discovered that the rice had been infested with weevils.
“On that basis, we formed a committee to re-inspect it so we can be sure of what we have received. We don’t want to create another problem while providing solution to another one. We have inspected it; we have done random selection and we have seen that similar things apply across the board.
“We have agreed to return them to the source but if there are good ones with good quality that could be sent to us as replacement, we will be glad to receive them.” he said
This comes after President Buhari directed the Nigeria Customs Service early this month to release One hundred and Fifty trucks of rice that have been seized from smugglers over a period of time.
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development have been distributing these bags of rice to different states which would in turn distribute to the poor and vulnerabe in the society.
