The All Progressives Congress in Osun State and the State Government, have traded words over the allegations that the disbursement of bags of rice received from the Federal Government as palliative to alleviate the effects of the fuel subsidy removal on the residents of the state, was diverted by the state government.
The APC on Saturday, in a statement issued by its chairman, Mr Tajudeen Lawal, challenged the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, to disclose the whereabouts of the 1,250 bags of rice reportedly sent by President Bola Tinubu to the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, for the last Christmas and New Year festivities.
The party claimed that it received credible information that a consignment of 1,250 bags of rice meant for the Osun CAN, delivered to the state government, was misappropriated by the state officials.
According to the party, the bags of rice were meant for the CAN to celebrate the last Yuletide season.
The statement read in part, “We won’t back down as a party until the issue of the stolen rice belonging to the Osun CAN is resolved in favour of the rightful owners as we won’t on the previous 17,000 bags of 50kg rice and 8,000 bags of maize donated to Osun State by the Federal Government but which the same Adeleke diverted to create perception problems for the APC Federal Government.
“Why is it that it is only in Osun State in the southwest that the CAN was deprived of its rice meant for the festivities?”
Reacting to the allegation in a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the government described the allegation as unfounded and untrue, claiming that the state did not receive any bags of rice from the Federal Government to distribute to the state chapter of CAN.
Alimi insisted that the report was false without any foundation in truth, saying the “Federal Government has not sent any rice palliative to Osun since the batch sent last year which was shared to the public through a committee of public associations and groups.
“The committee that shared the last rice package had the CAN chairman and others as members and there is no way any consignment will reach the state without the committee being informed and engaged in the distribution.”
The Commissioner however challenged the APC to substantiate the allegation, while cautioning broadcast organisations to stop giving the audience to those marketing fake news.
Alimi also urged the members of the public to ignore the purveyors of untrue information, affirming the commitment of the current administration to accountability and transparency in state governance.
