Tensions have escalated between two federal lawmakers from Edo State, Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa and Hon. Dekeri Anamero, regarding the supply of truckloads of Christmas Rice intended as palliatives by the federal government for federal lawmakers to distribute to their constituents.
Interestingly, Idahosa, representing Ovia federal constituency, and Anamero, representing the Etsako federal constituency, are also governorship aspirants on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform.
Idahosa has called for an investigation into an allegation that four trailer loads of rice, gifted to federal lawmakers, have been supplied and shared with their constituents. This move by Idahosa followed Anamero’s viral video on social media, urging supporters to question their representatives and senators about the whereabouts of the rice allocated by President Tinubu for each of the 360 House of Representatives members and 109 senators.
In the video, Anamero claimed that President Bola Tinubu had ordered the Ministry of Agriculture to allocate N100 million worth of rice and other grains to each House of Representatives member and N200 million worth of rice palliatives for each senator to share in December.
Anamero’s allegations sparked uproar in political circles, civil society organizations, and among Edo residents, leading to demands for an investigation into the distribution of the rice allocated to lawmakers for their constituents.
In response, Idahosa, in a personally signed statement titled “Notice of disclaimer,” dismissed Anamero’s allegations as spurious and misleading. He clarified that no bags of rice had been supplied from the federal government for distribution to the people of his constituency, Ovia Federal Constituency.
Idahosa also called on the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Civil Society Organizations, Concerned Citizens of Edo, and the Inspector General of Police to investigate the purported supplies of 2,400 bags of rice intended for distribution to his constituents.
Anamero, in his reaction to the controversy, maintained that his initial disclosure was driven by accountability to his constituents and not intended to malign anyone. He clarified that the contractors involved were still in the process of documentation, and once completed, they would reach out to the constituents for distribution. Anamero emphasized that his intention was not to cause trouble but to ensure transparency and accountability in the distribution of the palliatives provided to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy.
