The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) War Room investigated claims surrounding the distribution of federal government rice in Edo State.
This fact-check examines allegations made by Niger Delta Minister Abubakar Momoh on Channels Television on August 7, 2024.
Claim: Edo Governor rebags federal government rice in his name.
Minister Momoh’s Statement: During the Channels TV interview, Momoh stated, “The governor of Edo State gets his own… Rather, what he does is that when the government brings relief materials like this, he rebags them and puts his name. We saw what happened during COVID, and that’s the same thing happening today.”
Context: On July 15, 2024, Information Minister Mohammed Idris announced that the federal government had sent 20 trucks of rice (1,200 bags of 25kg) to each state and the FCT as part of hardship alleviation measures. Initially, Edo State denied receiving the rice.
However, on August 7, 2024, Chris Nehikhare, Edo’s Commissioner for Information and Orientation, confirmed receipt of the federal government rice.
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CDD War Room Investigation: The CDD War Room conducted an on-the-ground investigation in Edo State to verify the claims. The team confirmed that the state received the trucks of rice and observed bags of rice bearing the Edo State government seal.
However, the team were unable to ascertain whether these bags were originally supplied by the federal government and rebagged by the state government.
Conclusion: While the CDD War Room confirms the receipt of federal rice by Edo State and the existence of state-sealed rice bags, there is insufficient evidence to conclusively prove that the governor rebagged federal rice.
