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Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Oyo/Osun Command, Ibadan, on Wednesday, refused to collect the 1,800 bags of rice, which Oyo State Government rejected, being part of the patiliative from the Federal Government. The commodity was rejected on the grounds that the rice had been infested with weevils and unfit for human consumption.
The Federal Government had through the NCS donated 1,800 bags of rice to Oyo State Government as a palliative to support efforts of the states in cushioning the negative effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on poor citizens.
The state government received the rice last week Tuesday and on Friday raised the alarm through the Executive Assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde on Agribusiness, Dr. Debo Akande, that the rice was not good for human consumption.
The personnel of NCS at the headquarters of NCS, Oyo/Osun Command, Agodi, Ibadan, which is about 1,000 metres to the Oyo State Government secretariat, were said to have refused to open the gate of the command for officials, led by Commissioner for Agriculture, Ojemuyiwa Ojekunle, that brought the rejected rice in three trucks.
The trucks were at the NCS gate for hours and the gate was not opened for the trucks to access the premises till the state government officials left the place for the state secretariat at about 6pm.
Ojekunle, however, stated that the state government had written the agency to intimate it of plans to return the unhealthy rice, but was surprised that men of the NCS bluntly barred them from returning the rejected Federal Government palliative rice, adding that the decision to return the rice had no iota of mischief but was in an attempt to perhaps get better quality rice fit for consumption of the people.
He stated further that the state government’s officials would seek further directives from the state government to determine the next line of action.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the command, Abiola Abdullahi-Lagos, could not be reached on his mobile phone at the time of filing this report. But a source within the customs said the Oyo/Osun command of NCS had not received any directive from its headquarters in Abuja to collect the rice from the state government.
