The Edo State government, on Wednesday, said it received some trucks of rice from the Federal Government early this year but described them as a drop in the ocean
“Twenty trucks of rice? We are close to seven million people in Edo State. How does that help?”Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, queried on Wednesday.
Nehikhare, who addressed a press conference in Benin on Wednesday, said the clarification followed the insistence by the state All Progressives Congress, former governor Adams Oshiomhole and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Abubakar Momoh, that Edo State collected truckloads of rice from the Federal Government.
The commissioner said, “On the issue of the Federal Government giving us rice, I will tell you, a few months ago, maybe early this year or late last year or mid-this year, they brought some few trucks of rice.
“They (the rice) were distributed according to the formula which they sent to us. The rice went to IDP camps, to different people, to orphanage homes. You people should do the investigation.
“Edo State Government did not touch one of them. It went straight to the local government and then to where it was designed to be given out. The Edo State Government does not keep rice.
“So if a misguided minister in Abuja is echoing the voice of propaganda of Edo State APC talking about rice, let them know that we have spent N2.2bn to feed our people. Twenty trucks of rice? We are close to seven million people in Edo State. How does that help?”
Nehikhare alleged that PDP had uncovered a plot by the APC to cause civil unrest in Edo State ahead of the September 21 governorship election.
“Our attention has been drawn to plans by the APC to orchestrate civil unrest and cause mayhem in the state under the guise of protests and rallies to advance their obnoxious political agenda.
“The APC is resorting to this devious plan because they have realised the folly of presenting an unlettered and incompetent candidate for the office of a governor.
“Their candidate, Monday Okpebholo, has continued to embarrass the party and his handlers in private and public fora with his poor grasp of basic concepts and intellectual immaturity, consistently displaying an inability to articulate and coherently sell his vision to the electorate and other key stakeholders,” the commissioner said.
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