The Nigerian Custom Services (NCS), Oyo/Osun Area Command, on Saturday faulted claims by the Oyo State Government that the 1,800 bags of rice distributed to the state as palliative by the Federal Government were infested with weevils and unfit for human consumption
Speaking with journalists in Ibadan, the Public Relations Officer of Oyo/Osun Area Command of the customs service, Abdullahi Musa, said the claim by the Oyo State Government was annoying and appalling.
He noted that although it is possible that a little number of the bags of rice might have an issue, it does not mean that all the bags of rice were not good for consumption
He said: “The Executive Assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde on Agribusiness, Dr Debo Akande, together with the Special Adviser to the governor on security, Fatai Owoseni had earlier came to our office to check the rice before it was evacuated from our warehouse.
“We were shocked to hear that the rice were not good for consumption. These rice are not expired rice, how can we now release expired rice for the public? this is very annoying.
“Oyo/Osun command has two warehouses, so the government representatives were the one that even chose the rice they want. Oyo State was the first to evacuate their rice before other states came to took their own.
The customs spokesperson , however, said efforts are ongoing to ease the tension of the among residents of the state, adding that customs will still react accordingly.
Th Federal Government had recently distributed 1,800 bags of rice each to four of the six South West States as palliative to cushion the effect of the lockdown order put in place to contain the spread of coronavirus.
