The All Progressives Congress and the Edo State Government are embroiled in a dispute over the ownership of a rice truck looted during the #EndHunger protests in Benin.
A viral video showed residents looting rice from a warehouse in Urora, with some claiming it belonged to the Edo Government.
APC’s acting chairman, Jarret Tenebe on Thursday, accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of deliberately depriving Edo people of federal government palliatives, calling it economic sabotage.
However, the Edo Government denied ownership of the warehouse, stating that it doesn’t store relief materials and instead partners with religious organizations to support vulnerable persons.
The government accused the APC of orchestrating the looting and creating the video to score political points, according to Peoples Gazette.
The controversy surrounds the source of the looted rice and the intentions of the parties involved.
He said, “If Edo people were in doubt, the video that emerged in social media today, where an abandoned trailer load of repackaged federal government rice with Edo state government inscription has exposed the state government.
“The rice was discovered by Urora residents and it has exposed Obaseki’s deliberate plan to deprive Edo people from accessing the different palliative measures of the federal government.”
Nehikhare, however, accused APC of being responsible for the video.
“The Edo state government has received information about the looting of bags of rice from an unidentified truck and private residences in parts of Benin City in the wake of the #EndBadGovernance protests.
“The videos making the rounds are said to have emanated from the Urora axis of Ikpoba Hill, Benin City, and the government does not have a warehouse in that location. The video is the handiwork of APC in a desperate attempt to score cheap political points,” stated the commissioner.
He added, “The government supports the vulnerable with relief materials through religious organisations, particularly the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and the Muslim leaders in the state.”
