Civil servants,foreigners sabotage FG’s rice self- sufficiency efforts

Rice milling machine

Some bad eggs in the Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development and some Indian rice millers domiciled in Nigeria have allegedly been sabotaging government’s efforts at rice-self sufficiency.

FoodFarmNews reliably gathered that over 100 hidden rice milling machines purchased under the last administration have been uncovered by the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh while on an unscheduled visit to one of the facilities of the ministry and  had ordered their immediate release to areas of need towards accelerated production in the country.

The minister was said to have been infuriated  by the action of the public servants in concealing the machines meant for the mitigation of  high import bills of the federal government on the produce.

This act, according to our source, was perceived as an act of sabotage to government programme by some bad eggs in the civil service who might have connived to move the machines out in order to resupply them to the government  had they  not been uncovered by the minister.

In one of the Monday meetings, the minister was said to to have lamented about the incident arguing that the machines could have effectively assisted the government in her bid to stop rice importation if they had  been deployed for use at the right time.

Although our source could not ascertain weather the machines were included in the handing over note given to the minister, but quickly pointed out that obviously if they had been included, the minister would have reacted differently.

Meanwhile, the Kebbi State agric commissioner, Alhaji Garba Mohammed Gadinja has alleged that Indian mill owners resident in Nigeria have been making efforts to sabotage government’s efforts by sponsoring Nigerians who are campaigning for the continued importation of the commodity, and that on observing that this administration would not yield to their pressure, they have been forced to key in into the various government efforts, especially the CBN rice anchor programme.

A majority of local rice millers, up to 90 per cent, are Indians while the rest are Nigerians.