Governor Akeredolu Clarifies Position on FG Rice Donation
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has refuted claims that the state government rejected bags of rice sent by the federal government as part of COVID-19 palliatives.
Earlier reports suggested that the Ondo State Government turned down expired rice out of the 1,800 bags sent by the Federal Government’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. However, Governor Akeredolu dismissed these claims and clarified that while they did not reject the rice, they did discard some bags found to be unsuitable for consumption.
He took to Twitter to address the situation:
“A lot of news making the rounds that we rejected rice from the FG. This is false. At no time did we reject anything from the FG. We nonetheless have experienced similar issues experienced by other states with some of the bags. Those not suitable for consumption will be discarded.”
Similarly, the Ekiti State Government also denied reports of returning 1800 bags of rice donated by the Federal Government as COVID-19 palliatives. Prof. Bolaji Aluko, the Coordinator of the COVID-19 Task Force and Director General, Office of Strategic Transformation and Delivery in Ekiti, dismissed claims that the rice was rejected due to expiration.
Aluko stated:
“We have not rejected or returned any rice to the Federal Government.”