Udom Emmanuel, the governor of Akwa Ibom State, has suspected that the 1800 bags of custom bonded warehouse rice sent to the State as Federal Government palliative for Covid-19 may not be suitable for consumption.
Emmanuel has, therefore, announced a decision to subject the rice to scientific tests to ascertain whether such should be distributed to the people of the State.
The Governor who made this public during a press conference in Uyo on Monday, April 27, 2020, said he has strong reservations against distributing a food item that has shown serious signs of decay to the people of the state.
“For the relief materials from the Federal Government, we got 1800 bags of custom bonded warehouse rice. That gift is not good for me to distribute to my citizens.
We have sent it for the test, but it doesn’t look good enough for consumption” he said Presenting an overview of efforts so far made by the state government in the fight against the spread of Covid-19, Governor Emmanuel said though novel, Corona Virus did not take Akwa Ibom state by surprise.
“We are experiencing what the entire world has never experienced before, so no one can truly boost of experience. Covid-19 has never happened before so everyone is learning to manage it.
“We have a modern digital, functional situation room for every single test analysis and close to 50 medical experts who are manning these” Governor Emmanuel who declared that the life of any citizen of Akwa Ibom is as important as the life of the Governor pledged to do everything within his powers to keep Akwa Ibom and her people safe.
Emmanuel assured that he will continue to do everything possible to invest more in the health sector. Adding that the state has 407 medical doctors and 2000 nurses to help in the fight.
Paying glowing tributes to medical workers in the state, Governor Emmanuel said: “My heroes are the medical workers who have volunteered, who have exposed themselves to risk to ensure that they work during this critical season in order to make sure they manage this cases well, I am eternally indebted to these ones”.
