Rice Palava: Nigerian Customs Refuses To Take Back 1,800 Bags Of Rice Rejected By Oyo State

The crisis between Oyo State Government and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) continued on Wednesday as the NCS refused to take back the 1,800 bags of rice rejected by the state.

The state government had shown the world last Friday that the rice was infested with weevil, making it unfit for human consumption.

It announced its decision to return the rice, which was part of the Federal Government’s palliative to mitigating the negative effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on poor citizens.

The state government collected the rice on Tuesday from the Oyo/Osun State Command of the NCS, which is located at about one kilometer from the Oyo State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.

But on returning the rejected consignment on Wednesday, the NCS refused to allow the three trucks conveying the product into its premises.

The team led by Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Jacob Ojemuyiwa, were also denied access into the Customs premises.

The officials who led the trucks to the Customs premises were told that the command was yet to receive directive from its headquarters to collect the rice.

The trucks returned with the contentious bags of rice to the state secretariat at about 6pm after waiting at the Customs gate for many hours.

The NCS had explained in a statement on Saturday that officials of the Oyo State Government properly inspected the rice on Monday and certified that it was in good condition.

It would be recalled that the Executive Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde, Debo Akande, had on Friday said the committees set up to re-examine the rice have warned that it was not consumable.