The dust is yet to settle over the 1,800 bags of rice which the Oyo State government received from the Federal Government and attempted to return without success. While the state described the rice as weevil-infested and unfit for human consumption, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) which supplied the rice insisted that the rice supplied was good and so could not be the one being showcased by the state as weevil-infested. Southwest Bureau Chief , Bisi Oladele examines the facts and the fiction surrounding it.
Nigerians were surprised on Friday, April 24 when officials of the Oyo State government showcased plenty of weevil-infested bags of rice which they insisted were supplied them by the Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as part of the palliatives being given to states by the Federal Government.
A lot of people have many questions on the dispute. What could have made the NCS supply weevil-infested rice to Oyo State which is its host or landlord as is fondly described? Did the state government inspect and certify the rice before fetching the 1,800 bags from the NCS warehouse? If so, who signed for the collection? If the rice was truly later found out to be unfit for consumption, why did the state government choose the media as the channel of complaint? Did communication between the two institutions break down thereby necessitating exposing the alleged evil through the media? These are some of the questions being asked by observers and analysts whose answers are not yet fully unveiled.
Though the NCS is a federal agency, it operates in states and the Federal Capital Territory like others. The Oyo/Osun Area Command has operated from its Agodi, Ibadan headquarters for ages.
The Area Comptroller is a member of the state security council. The office is only about 800 meters away from the state secretariat where Oyo State Governor sits to pilot the affairs of the state. This means that both of them are within each other’s stone throw and also work together for the security of lives and property in the state.
But things went sour between the two on April 24 when the state government announced to the world with evidence that it received weevil-infested rice from the command. It released videos and photographs of the rice to back its decision to return the commodity.
Following the announcement, Nigerians were taken aback, wondering why the Federal Government gave out such alleged dangerous products to the people of an entire state. While Governor Makinde and his team attracted sympathy and applause, the Federal Government and NCS got knocks from concerned citizens, further deepening the already existing distrust. But from the same warehouse, Ekiti and Osun states got 1,800 bags each. Neither of the states complained about what they received.
The NCS’ response to the announcement showed it was embarrassed by the claim that the rice was unfit for human consumption. It expressed surprise that the release of the rice followed due process as officials of the state government led by the Commissioner for Agriculture inspected the rice on Monday, April 20, certified it okay and actually picked the ones they preferred the following day.
In a statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Mr. Abiola Abdullahi-Lagos, the NCS also denied the photos of the said contaminated rice, insisting that it supplied fit-for-consumption commodity. It added that the rice received in good condition could not have suddenly gone bad within three days. It, therefore, urged Governor Makinde to dig deeper to unravel the facts around the rice.
The statement read: “The attention of the Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to some mischievous and deliberate falsehood being circulated in the media for reasons best known to their author(s) concerning the Federal Government’s palliatives given to Oyo State, among other states.
“As a responsible agency of government whose functions include ensuring that nothing that could compromise the security, economy and general well-being of Nigerians are allowed into the country, we cannot turn round and be associated with giving anything that will negatively affect our people. We, therefore, wish to state as follows:
“That in line with the Federal Government’s effort to cushion the hardship in the country, the CGC had directed the distribution of relief items, including bags of rice across the country through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management as palliatives to the vulnerable in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
“As instructed, on April 20, 2020, the Oyo/Osun Area Command received high ranking members of the Oyo State government in the persons of the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Jacob Ojekunle; the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Saidat Bolatumi Oloko; Executive Adviser to the Governor on Agribusiness, Debo Akande; the representative of Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and Social Development in Oyo, Mrs. M. O. Lasisi and other members.
“They visited the command twice on the same day to inspect the bags of rice that were available for allocation.
“The Customs Area Controller, Comptroller, H. U. Ngozi led them to the warehouses where they inspected the bags of rice, checked expiration dates and expressed satisfaction and readiness to evacuate their allocation.
“Before leaving the command on their second visit, they pleaded to be given those from a section of one of the warehouses they considered “fresher” and this was granted.
“Subsequently, on April 21, 2020, the Oyo State government’s team came with their vehicles under the supervision of Mr. Jacob Ojekunle, Mrs. Saidat Oloko, Mrs. M. O. Lasisi and other top officials, in the presence of the Customs Area Controller, other officers and members of the press to witness the loading and exiting of the 1,800 bags of parboiled rice allocated to their state as palliatives to the vulnerable.
“Incidentally, in the process of loading, few bags fell at different times and burst open in the presence of Mr. Ojekunle and Mrs. Lasisi and there was no time that any of the burst bags of rice had weevils in them.
“The warehouse had no signs of weevils, neither were there signs of weevils on the loaders or on the trucks under the scorching sun.
“The three states: Oyo, Osun and Ekiti took delivery of the bags of rice allocated to them, returned their landing certificates to show delivery to its final destinations. They also showed appreciation to the CGC for his magnanimity.
“Contrary to allegations by Oyo State government, Osun and Ekiti states have not complained about their allocations.
“The command is, therefore, surprised, even embarrassed to hear, three days later, that the rice allocated to them was infested with weevils and unfit for human consumption.
“The command wishes to reiterate that weevils do not hide, and in the process of loading the vehicles, traces of weevils would have been noticed on the floor, on the bags, on the loaders or on the trucks bearing in mind that the entire process was in the presence of the CAC, Oyo State government’s high ranking team and men of the press with full video camera coverage.
“The command is also aware that for whatever reason, some pictures of bad rice have been circulating the social media. We disassociate ourselves from such false images and we suspect foul play on the part of the handlers of these allocated 1,800 bags of rice. The state government may wish to dig deeper.
“It is surprising how bags of rice that exited the command headquarters in good condition suddenly became so bad after three days as being circulated on the social media.”
But the state government stuck to its gun. It said the NCS misrepresented facts in its statement because it was impossible for anyone to play pranks with the rice between the command headquarters and the food bank which is about only 2,000 meters distance.
The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor Mr. Taiwo Adisa, told The Nation that the officials that inspected the rice were not members of the technical sub-committee which tests and certifies items and all products donated to the state. He said the officials only inspected to confirm that the said rice was available at the command, adding that it was the technical committee that detected the status of the rice after conducting a test on it.
On whether the state government contacted the NCS to inform it of its discovery, Adisa explained that there was no need for any informal communication, stressing that the decision to return the rice was conveyed in a letter to the NCS on Friday morning before an open announcement was made later that day.
The CPS further explained that only the committee was in the position to communicate to the Customs since it is the one in charge of the gift, not the governor. Besides, it was not a security issue on which the Customs Comptroller and the governor relate.
Adisa said: “We did not have any communication before the letter and announcement that Friday. The communication has to be in writing because there is a department that handles the rice distribution. That’s why we sent the letter on Friday morning. So, the issue is not a direct relationship one.
“Inspection is different from examination. They only ascertained that the rice was there and where they would take it to. It is not their business to technically inspect the rice. Only people with the technical knowhow did it and found out it was not fit for consumption.
“It is our procedure that any food taken to food bank is examined by the technical committee which declares it fit or unfit. Some other foods would have fallen into this trouble but the committee on food security prevented it.
They expected the NCS would have done the technical testing and certified it. So, they only went there to see and receive what was given. It is not their business to undertake technical test.”
The rice was eventually returned last week but the Customs refused the lorries entry into its premises. Abdullahi-Lagos said the command would only take delivery of the rice if it receives a directive from the national headquarters to do so. The decision to release the rice, he said, came from its headquarters; hence its collection can only be directed by the headquarters.
That some bags broke during loading and weevils were not seen in them and that the state officials inspected the warehouses without sighting weevils may have strengthened the Customs’ position.
Now that the rice has been returned to the food bank of the state government, it is not yet known what action will follow. But the good news is that weevil-infested rice from whatever source is not being distributed to the public.
The Nation
