George Orji
25 June 2009
Kaduna — The Federal Government has put security agencies in the country on "red alert" over alleged attempts by some unscrupulous Nigerian businessmen to import contaminated rice.
The alert is coming on a day thousands of bags of rice with number LL62, said to have originated from Asia and refused discharge in Sierra Leone, found its way into markets mainly in Sokoto, Kaduna and other northern states.
A National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) official who craved anonymity confirmed this to THISDAY in Kaduna, yesterday, and urged members of the public to look out for the rice and avoid it.
Director, Rice Development in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, Mr Moses Adewuyi, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.
Adewuyi said government had directed security agencies to "be on the look out and prevent the rice from entering the Nigerian market."
According to him, the measure was sequel to a media report, indicating that some Nigerian businessmen were intent on importing contaminated rice from Sierra Leone. NAN learnt that the said rice, said to be food aid to Sierra Leone, had been rejected by the country on grounds that the cargo was contaminated.
The director urged Nigerians to be vigilant and to desist from purchasing any brand of rice they were not familiar with.
"More than anything else, we have always said that imported rice has questionable shelf or age span; because nobody can tell you precisely the age of imported rice.
"In that wise, we will always encourage Nigerians to eat Nigerian grown rice instead of imported rice and gradually we will keep on improving the quality of our locally produced rice to meet international standards," the director said.
Meanwhile, NAFDAC Coordinator in Kaduna State, Mr Ifeanyi Nwosu, confirmed to NAN on Wednesday that he had received a directive from the headquarters to "impound the commodity and if possible, prosecute the offenders".
"We (NAFDAC) are investigating the report of the entry of contaminated rice into the country," Nwosu said.
He appealed to the public to avail NAFDAC with information on the reported circulation and sale of the contaminated rice and other harmful food related commodities.
He also urged the public to provide samples of any banned food and drugs as well as addresses of the sources of such products to enable the agency stop their circulation.
"This job is not for NAFDAC alone. It is our collective responsibility to arrest this ugly trend and protect our lives from harmful foods and drugs," he said.
According to him, the agency was yet to make any seizure or arrest on the report of the contaminated rice.
The report of the poisonous rice which was aired in the Hausa Service of the Voice of America (VOA) monitored in Kaduna yesterday said Muslim and Christian clerics have condemned the importation of such rice and appealed to their adherents to distance themselves from anything that could cause harm to the body and soul.
A senior Customs official in Kaduna, Sani Bunza told newsmen that although they were not allowed to talk to the media without permission, they were aware of such complaints from the public of bad rice in the market.
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SEEDS OF DECEPTION BY JEFFREY SMITH
“ A must read for truthseekers. “ [www.seedsofdeception.com]
PARABLE OF THE GMO GAME AND ITS ORIGINATOR (Satan aka D-Evil )
And Jesus said another parable to them, saying,
“ The kingdom of heaven is like a man which planted good seed in his field:
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares (GMO / FAKE) among the wheat (NATURAL), and went his… [Read Full Text]