Thai officials have announced the arrest of a crooked businessman, Udeh Ikem, who is the Chairman of Udeh and Sons Holdings, over the illegal purchase of 30 tons of expired rice from Thailand for export to the Nigerian market.
It is believed that part of the rice, said to have expired since 2006, is at the heart of the alleged unsafe rice said to have been distributed by the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose.
The head of the Public Affairs Section of the Thailand Embassy, Mr. Chun Kun Yrung, in a letter to the headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) and NAFDAC, stated that the rice had expired and that they were bought from unscrupulous business men after the Thailand Agency for Food and Drugs had ordered they should be destroyed.
“A Nigerian man bought the expired rice from Dai Sun central store in Chiangmai, North of Thailand. The 30 tons of rice were meant to be destroyed by the Thailand Ministry of Commerce and Trade.
Unfortunately, a Nigerian business man, Chief Udeh Ikem, who is the Chairman of Udeh and Sons Holdings, bought the consignment illegally in collaboration with some corrupt Thai officials. As at now, the business man has been arrested in Bangkok and he will be prosecuted by the Thailand police authorities”, the Thailand Embassy stated.
Mr Fayose recently distributed some 30,000 bags of rice to students and market women in the state ahead of this Saturday’s governorship election.
But the Thailand Agency for Food Quality and Control, (TAFQC) said it was worried that the rice could harm Nigerians, hence the need to send a strong protest to the Federal Government on the importation of several “fake, dangerous and harmful” bags of expired rice being imported to Nigeria for human consumption.
The Thailand government said it was disturbed that Nigerian politicians are buying expired food stuff from Asia without consideration for the impact on the health of consumers.
Efforts to get Mr Fayose to respond to the allegation was unsuccessful, as he refused to pick his call or respond to a text sent to him.
However, leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Caucus, Williams Akintunde, said is group has launched a campaign to warn the people against the bags of rice.
“The bags of rice are not good for the spiritual well being of Ekiti people. The rice is harmful. Fayose brought these bags of rice to destroy the lives of young people in Ekiti state. They must be careful so that they do not become zombies after eating Fayose’s rice,” he said.
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