Edo govt backtracks, admits receiving trucks of rice from federal govt

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Edo State, Chris Nehikhare, has confirmed that the state government received trucks of rice from the federal government after its initial denial.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Mr Nehikhare had on a national television denied that the Edo State Government received trucks of rice from the federal government.

“We only received grains and garri from the federal government, not rice,” he had said on a live television programme.

The PDP-led government’s denial prompted the opposition APC in the state to accuse it of being “economical with the truth”.

The APC claimed that the bags of rice looted in Benin during the nationwide protest were part of the palliative from the federal government, which the Edo State Government hoarded.

Amidst the controversy, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Abubakar Momoh, clarified that each state, including Edo, received 20 trucks of rice.

At a news conference on Wednesday in Benin, Mr Nehikhare capitulated and confirmed that the Edo State Government did receive trucks of rice from the federal government.

He said that the federal government delivered the rice to the state with instructions that it should be shared amongst the Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs), orphanages and local government areas.

He said: “On the issue of the federal government giving us rice, I will tell you, a few months ago, maybe early this year or late last year or mid-this year, they brought some trucks of rice.

“They (the rice) were distributed according to the formula that they be sent to IDP camps, different people, and orphanages. You people should do the investigation.

“Edo State Government did not touch any of the trucks.

“They moved straight to the local governments and where they were designated to be given out.

“Edo State Government does not keep rice. We have spent N2.2 billion to feed our people.

“What can 20 trucks of rice do where we are close to seven million people in the state? How does that help?”

According to the commissioner, the state government provided free bus services since September as part of its measures to fight poverty.

“I will state categorically that the Edo State Government does not buy rice. It did not buy rice.

“What it did is to provide N2.2 billion to the Christian Association of Nigeria to purchase food items: garri, yam, plantain and rice to give to the vulnerable people, and that is a deliberate government policy,” he said.

(NAN)