Amid claims by some states that the bags of rice given to them by the Federal Government as palliatives were unfit for consumption, the Federal Government has insisted that all the rice distributed to states were certified fit for human consumption.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Social Development and Disaster Management, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, stated this on Monday in Abuja.
According to her, the rice was accessed by the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) before they were delivered to the states.
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Recall that Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State had said the entire 1,800 bags of rice delivered to the state were Infested with weevils while Ondo’s Oluwarotimi Akeredolu said some of the bags of rice sent to the state were expired.
The minister gave the explanation at the daily briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
Farouq said that the rice was distributed to the states as handed over to the ministry by the Nigerian Customs Service, and that NAFDAC also accessed the edibility of the rice.
“We all know if we keep rice or grain it is bound to change colour but that does not mean it is unfit for human consumption”.
She denied claims that the rice given to the Oyo State Government by the federal government as palliative had expired, adding that such claim was baseless.
