The controversy trailing the alleged distribution of the contaminated rice to Oyo State and other South West states by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarin Affairs and Disaster Managment, is not yet over as a group under the auspices of League of Maritime Editors and Publishers (LOMEP) have called for immediate sack of the Comptroller General of Customs, Col Hameed Ali (rtd).

They accused Col Ali of willfully releasing the poinsnous rice for public consumption, even though he and the Minister of Information Lai Muhammed had at several fora in the last two years have been warning Nigerians not to consume such rice.

They noted that the customs helmsman had on several occasions warned Nigerians that imported rice is poisonous, cancerous and totally unfit for human consumption.

They wondered why the Customs CGC could instead of destroying such seized rice it the Customs warehouses, he willfully relaesed it to the Federal Government for onward distribution to states as COVID-19 palliatives to the hungry Nigerian public.

A statement signed by the president of LOMEP, Kingsley Anaroke and Secretary General, Francis Ugwoke said among those that should be dismissed for betrayal of trust, negligence and attempted murder by giving out contaminated and expired rice that are dangerous for human consumption as palliatives to the people are Customs Controllers of Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Lagos, Ogun commands who distributed the grains to the different states.”

The statement titled: ‘State of the Nation Statement’, alleged that Ali and his Customs Controllers treated with total disregard the health implications of the grains to the people of the states even when they were fully aware that the food items were poisonous.

The group recalled that Ali had himself described the grains as poisonous and had warned Nigerians from consuming them on several occasions.

They alleged that the grains came to the country years back and were seized by the Customs who later said that were contaminated.

The group recalled a statement credited to the Customs boss when he addressed newsmen, where he was advising Nigerians against eating foreign smuggled rice which includes seized rice on the argument that such have spent a minimum of five years in the silos before arriving the country.

Ali had actually told newsmen: “A chemical must have been added to sustain its freshness and that chemical is harmful. Also, it has been re-bagged with a new date given as the production and expiry date and that is what we consume here which causes diseases.”

The group also recalled that the customs under Ali’s leadership had equally donated the same poisonous rice to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North but were withdrawn later, adding that this was unbecoming of a highly placed public officer who claims to be in the forefront of the war against corruption.

According to the group, the claim by Customs that the grains were tested before they were given out, was simply a volte face, fallacy and demanded evidence of such test from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The group further said that the conflicting reports by the five All Progressives Congress (APC) party states, Lagos, Osun, Ekiti Ondo and Ogun on the contaminated rice, was merely for political reasons and patronage.

“If the CGC has said severally that foreign rice is not fit for human consumption, why must it then be distributed as palliatives, is customs not aware how long the rice must have stayed in their warehouses and what due diligence did it carry out on the rice before releasing them to the states? Were they inspected and tested by NAFDAC?

“When did this foreign rice become okay for human consumption? Why can’t Ali’s Customs give Nigerians Nigerian rice instead of foreign rice which he knows are poisonous?

“Nigerians should ask the CGC where he got his information first on the poisonous rice. Was it after it was distributed to IDPs which probably led to the stoppage? If so, why sending them to the West as COVID 19 palliatives, a move which could be seen as ethnic sabotage? ”

The group called for halt on further on distribution of any palliative from customs without certification by the relevant authorities, hinting of another plot to donate 10 bad containers of tomato paste in Onne Customs Command, Rivers State, as palliatives to the Federal Government.