Palliative rice: Osun APC challenges Gov. Adeleke to give proper account

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has challenged Governor Ademola Adeleke to come out clean with the recurring issue of the Federal Government palliative rice which his Government allegedly converted to a means of political patronage.

The President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government had sent trailer-loads of rice and grains to the Osun State Government for distribution to the people of the State in order to reduce the biting effects of the removal of the fuel subsidy removal since last year.

However, the main opposition party in the State alleged that instead of distributing the rice to meet the immediate needs of the people, Adeleke decided to warehouse the trailer-loads of rice and later re-bagged and re-branded the same bags of rice in a manner suggestive that the bags of rice were being provided by his government.

The APC further accused the Adeleke-led Government of distributing the Federal Government rice as Eid-el-Kabir gifts  to only the members of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) instead of making it available to all the residents of the State without religious and political consideration.

Commenting on the development, the Osun State Chairman of the APC, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement issued by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, on Thursday, said that it was unfortunate that the Governor had messed up the Federal Government palliative rice again as usual.

Lawal queried Adeleke and his co-travellers why they were reluctant to come out clean with the issue of the Federal Government rice palliatives meant for the people of the state.

The state APC chairman wondered why Adeleke had been operating like a stranger to his own administration as his actions and inactions had given him out as an alien in his government.

His words: “What we are talking about is about the common patrimony of the State which the people of the State are entitled to know the formula for its appropriation in the interest of fairness, accountability and probity in the public office.

“It will not be out of tune for the people of the State to know how many bags of rice were distributed and who were the beneficiaries?

“It will also interest the people to know if the Government of Adeleke had truly bought additional bags of rice to supplement the Federal Government own and at what cost.

“It is only when these questions are answered diligently that the governed would be convinced that there has not been sharp practices by the Government on the recurring issue of the Federal Government palliative rice.

“Will it be fair to distribute the Federal Government palliative rice to only the members of the PDP when it wasn’t only the party members who voted in the Governor as the State Chief executive?

“Why is it that Governor Adeleke and his cohorts detest accountability portion of governance and brand those craving for same as enemies of his administration?

“We, as a party, won’t allow Governor Adeleke to rest until he gives proper account of the Federal Government palliative rice. We won’t allow him to shortchange the people of the state,”the Osun State APC chairman stated.