Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani Kayode has lauded the Oyo state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde over his courage to return the palliative sent to the state by the federal government.
You will recall that the governor had earlier promised to return the 1,800 bags of rice given to the state as palliatives to cushion the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
While commending the governor, Fani Kayode in a post on his Twitter handle pointed out that Makinde was the only Southwest governor who summoned the courage to speak up about the condition of the palliative.
Fani Kayode Lauds Makinde For Rejecting Palliative
The post reads, “Disgusted that the FG could send rotten, mouldy rice to SW as part of their so-called palliatives. Did they do the same to northern states? I gather ALL the SW Governors sent the rice back, but only @seyiamakinde was bold enough to let the world know what happened. I commend him.
According to Dr Debo Akande, the executive assistant on Agribusiness to governor Makinde, the 1,800 bags of rice from the Federal Government were infested with weevil and not suitable for consumption.
“We received these items from the Federal Government via the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, and we brought them to the warehouse. It was in the process of further inspection that we discovered that the rice had been infested with weevils.
“On that basis, we formed a committee to re-inspect it so we can be sure of what we have received. We don’t want to create another problem while providing a solution to another one. We have inspected it; we have made the random selection, and we have seen that similar things apply across the board.
“We have agreed to return them to the source, but if there are good ones with good quality that could be sent to us as a replacement, we will be glad to receive them.”
The distribution of the palliative was part of efforts to cushion the effect of the extended lockdown as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
