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Oyo/Osun Customs Clears The Air on Poisonous Rice Allegations

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Oyo Osun Customs debunk allegation of poisonous rice

Oyo/Osun Customs Clears The Air on Poisonous Rice Allegations

In light of the Poisonous Rice allegation against the OYO/Osun Customs, Oyo Command Customs PRO Refutes Claims

The allegation against Oyo/Osun Command is that the command gave poisonous rice as COVID-19 palliative.

The Public Relations Officer, PRO Oyo/Osun Command of Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Abdullahi Lagos Abiola, has described the allegation against the Oyo/Command baseless, mischievous and falsehood.

Oyo Osun Customs debunk allegation of poisonous rice

Oyo Osun Customs debunk allegation of poisonous rice

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In his words:
“The attention of 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 palliative given to Oyo State among other states.

“As a responsible agency of Government whose functions include ensuring that nothing that could compromise security, economy and general being of Nigerians are allowed into the Country, we cannot turn round and be associated with giving anything that will negatively affect our people”.

He pointed out, ” We therefore wish to state as follows:
That in line with the Federal Government’s effort to cushion the hardship in the nation, the CGC had directed distribution of relief items including bags of rice across the nation through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, as palliative to the vulnerable, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

“As instructed, on the 20th of April 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, Mr Debo Akande; The representative of Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and Social Development in Oyo, Mrs MO 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, HU 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 the 21st of April 2020, the Oyo State Government team came with their vehicles under the supervision of Mr. Jacob Ojekunle, Mrs. Saidat Oloko, Mrs. MO 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 1800 bags of parboiled rice allocated to their State, as a palliative to the vulnerable”.

He stressed, “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 their 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.”

He exclaimed, “The Command is therefore surprised, even embarrassed to hear three days later, that the rice allocated to them were 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 HQ in good condition suddenly became so bad after three days, as being circulated in the social media.”

Air Routes

First Batch of Fleeing Nigerians Arrive from Ukraine

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No fewer than 427 Nigerians based in Ukraine arrived Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja on Friday Morning.

 

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They arrived en route Romania via Max Air.

This is according to an update by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) on its Twitter handle.

The passengers, numbering over 400 from Romania, landed at the private jet terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by 7:10 am (WAT) via a Max Air flight on Friday. They are mostly students who fled Ukraine to Romania following Russia’s invasion of the Eastern European country.

They were reportedly received by government officials and are expected to undergo documentation after which they will head home and self-isolate in line with the COVID-19 protocols. The Federal Government said they will be given some money to enable them to get to their destinations.

Friday’s flight, which was billed to arrive a day earlier, was delayed as the Federal Government cited a hitch in preparing passengers for the check-in process.

Asides Romania, the pickup flights will evacuate Nigerians from Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier said about 5, 000 Nigerians are eligible for evacuation from the warring region. The country will spend $8.5m on the exercise.

Other flights are expected to arrive in the country in the coming days as nations battle to evacuate their citizens.

Already, several African countries had moved their citizens, mainly students, from the conflict zone. Ghana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa were among the first set of nations to evacuate their citizens amid reports of racism by Ukrainian and Polish officials at the border posts.

 

Read Also: Ex-service Chiefs Arrived Senate For Ambassadorial Screening

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FG approves $8.5 Million for Evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine

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The federal government has approved $8.5m dollars to the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Humanitarian, Disaster Management, and Social Development, towards the evacuation of over 5,000 (registered and unregistered) Nigerians stranded in Ukraine.

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Zubairu Dada the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, made the disclosure on Wednesday, noting that three aircraft would be dispatched to four countries.

Dada noted that the pickup flights would be headed to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. Two flights from Air Peace and one from Max Air are expected to carry out the evacuation exercise.

He assured that all agencies are fully resourced to ensure that aircraft leave on Wednesday to begin the evacuation. He informed that the flights will embark on a number of shifts until the process is complete.

 

Read Also: FG EVACUATES 241 NIGERIANS FROM CHINA

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FG to Begin Evacuation of Nigerians from Ukraine Tomorrow

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The federal government said the first batch of air-lifting of Nigerian citizens trapped in the war-torn Ukraine is now scheduled to take place Wednesday March 2.

 

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Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House, stated this on Monday during a meeting with Geoffery Onyeama, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Abuja,
The evacuation, earlier planned for Monday, was rescheduled for Wednesday to give enough room for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the House of Representatives and the Nigerian foreign missions in Ukraine, Poland and Russia to complete the formalities of moving Nigerians from inside Ukraine to safe borders with neighboring countries.
The House of representative vowed to give every needed support to the ministry to kick-start the evacuation.

 

Read Also: Nigeria Urges Citizens in Ukraine to Protect Themselves

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