AKURE—RESIDENTS of Okitipupa/Irele Federal Constituency of Ondo State have rejected bags of rice packaged and distributed by the lawmaker representing the constituency, Jimi Odimayo.
They described the bags of rice, meant as gifts for the festivities, as dangerous for consumption.
In a viral video, some of the constituents were seen displaying the branded rice with the lawmaker’s picture.
An old woman in the video was heard saying: “This is a surprise to me because I have never seen where someone gives out this kind of rice.
“He (Odimayo) said he wants to be governor and see the kind of rice he distributed to people.
“We are not hungry; nobody should give us poison to eat. If you eat this one, hospital can’t do the surgery.”
Another man said: “The rice is terribly bad. The rice is dangerous for consumption. It is not good at all. Look at the rice Odimayo shared.
“It is filled with stones. In fact we couldn’t eat the one we cooked recently. Take a look at the cooked one and the uncooked both are obviously injurious for consumption.
“You can imagine someone who wants to be governor has the courage to share this kind rice to people.
“Nobody including young and old can eat it. It is not good at all. I have never seen this kind of rice before, rice that has about two to three colours. This is really serious.”
We distributed
quality rice
—Lawmaker’s aide
Denying the allegations, the lawmaker accused his politicial opponents of mischief.
Odimayo, who spoke through his media aide, Victor Adedeji, said that the residents of his constituency were been used to malign his image.
Adedeji urged members of the public to disregard the report.
He said: “The public should also know that the rice distributed was sourced from reputable suppliers and went through quality checks before distribution.
“Apart from the distribution of high-quality rice, Mr Jimi Odimayo equally provided relief materials and financial aid sourced from his personal funds, a practice he has diligently maintained since 2014.
“Despite claims made in the video suggesting the rice was full of stones and unfit for consumption, Odimayo assures constituents that the rice provided was ‘brown rice’ approved by the Federal Government of acceptable quality and suitable for consumption.”
