The report swirling around that Ondo returned bags of rice gifted it by federal government on the grounds that it was unfit for consumption has drawn the comment of the state government.
The state was said to have joined Oyo State in complaining about its own share of the rice the federal government distributed across all states to help cushion the negative economic effect of the ravaging coronavirus on the citizenry.
But the state put the speculation to bed on Monday via a statement released by its secretary for the COVID-19 palliative committee, Mr Alex Kalejaye in a statement he released.
In it, Kalejaye dismissed suggestion that the rice was returned saying only ten per cent of it are ungood.
The statement read in part: “At no time did the governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, instructed that the rice, meant to assist the state to combat food insecurity, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, be rejected and returned to Abuja.
“On receipt of the items, the Palliative Committee did a random physical inspection on the rice, and discovered that some appear unhealthy for consumption, at least on the face-value, while others look good.
“The Committee indeed drew the attention of Mr. Governor to this and pleaded for proper guidance. “While awaiting the thoughts of Mr. Governor, the Committee members met and decided to out a comprehensive inspection, to ascertain how many bags have been affected, on account of storage.
“We discovered that less than ten percent of the lot falls into this category, and has separated the few bags.”