The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said on Monday that the Edo government had yet to receive any rice from the Federal Government or Dangote Foundation.
Olu Martins, Deputy Director-General, Media and Publicity, PDP governorship campaign council for the state, made the denial at a news conference in Benin in response to the claim by Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor in the state.
Oshiomhole, who is representing Edo North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, claimed that the state government received 20 trucks of rice from the Federal Government as well as another 30,000 bags from the Dangote Foundation.
These bags of rice, the former governor said, were those looted during the nationwide protest that started on Aug. 1.
“We listened to Oshiomhole, where he made several allegations about the distribution and redistribution of rice by the Federal Government in Edo State.
“As a former governor, we believe he should understand how the wheel of government runs.
“Mind you, when the President issued his statement yesterday, there was no mention of palliatives as per rice going into any of the states.
“Perhaps the president missed it or it was still in the offing because if you sent 20 trailers of rice to Edo, as they have always shouted, it should come from which ministry? Perhaps from the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
“And because it is government, there is a bureaucracy. Somebody should deliver it from Abuja; somebody should deliver it to somebody in Edo; and somebody should sign for it,” he said.
Martins described Oshiomhole’s claim of 30,000 bags of rice as “heart-breaking” and accused him of “crying wolf” and trying to incite the looting of private warehouses.
According to him, the Edo government has released N1 billion to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to buy and distribute bags of rice, which were managed by church and mosque leaders.
The state government, he said, had a food support program set up three months ago and that any reports of food coming from elsewhere were mere speculation.
“We have our food support programme, and any other report of food coming from another place is mere speculation. No 20 trucks of rice have been received. There is no rice anywhere from the Federal Government,” he said.
The PDP campaign council boss challenged the APC to a debate, saying, “We are challenging them to a debate, and we are seriously waiting for the one the NUJ is organising.”
Also speaking on the issue, the spokesman of the PDP campaign organisation in Edo, Christopher Ojeikere, said that the state government has a food support programme being handled by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Edo State branch, and other religious bodies in the state.
“The committee was set up over three months ago and was well advertised and covered by journalists. That is a fact.
“The first one billion Naira was released to that committee for the first trench and they executed it and brought back the report to the governor and the governor released another one billion Naira recently. That is a fact.
“So, we have our food support programme. Every other discussion about rice coming from any other place is pure speculation and that is why the story is not add up.
“They don’t have that fact. All they have is conflicting propaganda. So, there is no rice anywhere from the Federal Government.
“And every other thing is APC jingoism and it wouldn’t stand, nor help their candidate who has not been able to help himself.”
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