Gov. David Umahi made the disclosure when participants of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Senior Course 39, Jaji, visited him in Abakaliki on Monday.
According to the governor, the order would soon be enforced to ensure that the residents patronised home-grown Ebonyi Rice.
“I will personally lead a task-force, consisting of the State Executive Council members to various markets and enforce the order.
“Individuals who are selling the produce will provide certification of its quality because most of the rice brought into the state is not parboiled.
“Any rice that is not parboiled after six months turns to chaff as most of them brought into the country stay for about 10 years before being imported.
“The rice then becomes poisonous and we have banned cooking of non-Ebonyi rice inside the state’s Government House, hotels and public functions.
“The Ebonyi rice still presents its unique taste even when cooked without meat and we will give you some quantities for attestation”, he said.
The governor remarked that the state had three functional rice mills and would inaugurate mills in the 13 Local Government Areas of the state before the end of 2017.
“When we conclude the inauguration, we will consult our stakeholders who show zeal and commitment but may not have money to purchase the mills.
“We will then aggregate and sell the mills to them with government maintaining about 20 per cent minimum equity shares and the stakeholders-80 per cent.
“This is the type of Public Private Partnership (PPP) we will be engaging, in line with the theme of your study-`tour of the state’,” he said.
Leader of the delegation, Commodore Michael Okonkwo, said the study tour was one of the programmes that enabled participants to study the socio-economic problems that confront the country.
“The theme of the tour is: Enhancing Economic Development through Public-Private Partnership’’, as we aim at evaluating aspects of the theme that concerns Ebonyi.
“We are the third group of the study-tour consisting of 27 members and nine other groups are touring other states of the country for the same objective.
“The other selected states include: Anambra, Gombe, Cross River, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger, Rivers, Taraba, and Zamfara”, he said.
He said each team required to write a report and make a formal presentation to the college on their observation in the visited states “We will be glad to have the governor or his representative at the collage during the report presentation in January. I will make a formal request on that through a letter”, he said.
from Vanguard
According to the governor, the order would soon be enforced to ensure that the residents patronised home-grown Ebonyi Rice.
“I will personally lead a task-force, consisting of the State Executive Council members to various markets and enforce the order.
“Individuals who are selling the produce will provide certification of its quality because most of the rice brought into the state is not parboiled.
“Any rice that is not parboiled after six months turns to chaff as most of them brought into the country stay for about 10 years before being imported.
“The rice then becomes poisonous and we have banned cooking of non-Ebonyi rice inside the state’s Government House, hotels and public functions.
“The Ebonyi rice still presents its unique taste even when cooked without meat and we will give you some quantities for attestation”, he said.
The governor remarked that the state had three functional rice mills and would inaugurate mills in the 13 Local Government Areas of the state before the end of 2017.
“When we conclude the inauguration, we will consult our stakeholders who show zeal and commitment but may not have money to purchase the mills.
“We will then aggregate and sell the mills to them with government maintaining about 20 per cent minimum equity shares and the stakeholders-80 per cent.
“This is the type of Public Private Partnership (PPP) we will be engaging, in line with the theme of your study-`tour of the state’,” he said.
Leader of the delegation, Commodore Michael Okonkwo, said the study tour was one of the programmes that enabled participants to study the socio-economic problems that confront the country.
“The theme of the tour is: Enhancing Economic Development through Public-Private Partnership’’, as we aim at evaluating aspects of the theme that concerns Ebonyi.
“We are the third group of the study-tour consisting of 27 members and nine other groups are touring other states of the country for the same objective.
“The other selected states include: Anambra, Gombe, Cross River, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger, Rivers, Taraba, and Zamfara”, he said.
He said each team required to write a report and make a formal presentation to the college on their observation in the visited states “We will be glad to have the governor or his representative at the collage during the report presentation in January. I will make a formal request on that through a letter”, he said.
from Vanguard
*Have the prices of rice gone down?How much is a good bag of Nigerian rice?
My government shouldn't try that in my state.nothing like foreign rice.
ReplyDeleteLocal rice is expensive na.
DeleteWhen i use to eat rice, i eat only local rice. Now i dont eat rice anymore.
Don't even know how much rice is cos no one eats it in my house. We eat local, brown and basmatic rice. Healthy living ti take over
In a free trade economy? Do you people even have an idea of governance at all? Or someone thinks because he's a governor , he can just stand up and institute policies without due research. Is he considering the GDP of his state? Or even the basic right of the people to eat what they want?
DeleteSo now government will regulate personal life too? What you eat and drink? Is that what we've been reduced to in this country?
You can't even tell yourself the truth...no one eats rice in your house but you eat local, brown & basmati? Are those ones beans?
DeleteA very good idea.let's start eating our own rice,enough of the Chinese plastic rice that's detrimental to our health...omg.I hope I ve not eaten the plastic rice though😟😩😩..wait a sec!lemme check...ScanningStomach..Nothing found. Good,oya AbakalikiOtiTakeOver.Stella rice never come down o,it was 26k the last time I bought.
ReplyDeleteThat plastic thing is not rice.
DeletePlastic rice? Seriously? People really believed that shit?
DeleteThis internet age sha, is it that people are getting dumber?
Nice one #BuyMadeInNigeria
ReplyDeleteThe Change start with me....
*Abeg make una no kill me here oooooo*
Just negodu .. I just hope the banning of foreign rice is not for the masses alone?Hope he and his cabinet are included in the ban of foreign rice?
ReplyDeleteLet people buy the rice they can afford mbok.
#Vikenx-virus
Really.!
ReplyDeleteI pray they produce rice that will meet the consumption need of the state
Please....where can one board Kaduna bus in Lagos
My cousin was deployed to the state
She will report to camp tomorrow
I am feeling for her seriously
**Reciting Psalm 91** all through since I got the news
Good morning............ Bag of rice has nt gone down oh, 18k d last i tried buying.
ReplyDeleteAbakaliki rice for the win... I bought a bag of rice a month ago for 18,800 at sahad here in abuja. Dunno how much it is now .
ReplyDeleteRice is now gold in naija. Even the local ones are pricey.
ReplyDeleteNa wah
ReplyDeleteAbakaliki rice ti take over na
Over well dey worry yhu.
ReplyDeleteDid all the imported rice he had been eating since birth kill him??.... this is a wrong move on his part, he's gonna make life difficult for the affected dealers....sterra,a bag of rice is sold at 20k upwards
ReplyDeleteThe want people to die of hunger, bag of rice is from 22k upwards if they ban foreign rice that means it will reach 40k
ReplyDeleteHian!...
ReplyDeleteWhat's his business if I decided to poison my self with the so called poisonous rice?...
Mtcheewww...
I'm not suprised!...no be "Abakeleke" man again?...
Local people!...
Stella,local rice don't come cheap oh...
The 25kg is about 12k while the 50kg is about 20-22k...
It's more cheaper in the east though like 2k difference or something...
Ur English is really bad, very cringeworthy! And eating foreign rice doesn't make you better, you are the local one here.
DeleteQueen biko stopeet!!
Delete#proudlyEbonyian
Gone down? For were. As at yesterday a cup of rice is #140.... I can't remember the last time i ate rice not to talk of Oga Bread.... Only God can save us in this country..
ReplyDeleteIndian rice 16,500 but not water friendly. If you don't take care you will but eating tuwo.
ReplyDeleteThere is this other one for 19,500 nice and highest I saw yesterday is 21,500 @ ultra modern market garki.
But for me, na kogi rice I dey chop. Even the kogi rice prize don over increase but I still love it.
its alright...go on
ReplyDeleteIn Kano good rice grade A is 18,500
ReplyDeleteGobe for rice importers!
ReplyDeleteNice move!
ReplyDeleteBut allow them sell the ones in stock already.
Amen to you!
Delete22k only. I decided to buy a made in naija rice at 16k. It's not like the imported long grain I am used to but it's okay. I cannot come and kill myself na.
ReplyDeleteit's been long ve eaten abakaliki rice, it unique taste stuffed with stones. hope they ve improved else marketers would smuggle foreign rice into the state
ReplyDeleteTheir improvement is commeserate with your English
Deletefirst off what is commeserate cos i couldnt find it in my dictionary. smart aleck
DeleteStory story
ReplyDeleteA good bag of rice is N35,000.000 shikena.
ReplyDeleteI pray abakaliki rice is good. Long i have tasted it but i wont buy it because of stones.
Let me wait for abroadian rice.
Buy grade 1 and you'll be singing 🎶 oh-la-la
Delete@ Amanda, hope not the oh la la of Genevieve and her doctor in devious maids.
DeleteLMAO 😁 king 👑 nwa amaka
DeleteYou know nah*winks*
As if their rice taste good ad his adviser on media wrote.A bag of it is 13k while foreign rice is 23k here
ReplyDeleteIt's taste as good as he said. If you buy the grade 1, you won't find a single stone in it.
DeleteMind you, the rice is properly de-stoned. No stone, no chaff.
ReplyDeleteI live in Abakaliki. I bushel of rice dat 25kg sold for 8200 last two weeks. I don't know for now. They should ban foreign rice cos we don't produce enof in this country. Let pple have d choice of buying which they want.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion local rice is way better n healthier than foreign rice. Now I see videos of plastic rice. Me I eat local rice Biko. cheaper and healthier.
It's way healthier, so i hear But the fear of stones is the beginning of wisdom. Lol.
DeleteI support what the governor is doing charity begins at home so let Ebonyi residents start eating the produce and then it could go round the country. They should find a way to remove stones, with machinery. I've eaten that rice once and I almost cried. I was 9 years old. I remember we were at a relatives and I kept asking my mum why the rice is so 'dirty'. My mother gave me that 'bad mother eye' tire. But I wasn't lieing. Lol
Mrs. Power won't you buy rice farms? If you can please do. They would be cheaper now.
🙌🙌
DeleteLocal rice is the truth
Yummy 😋
#proudlyEbonyian
Chikito,if you buy rice from Abakaliki Rice mill,you won't regret it!
DeleteNo stones,no sand
Well sorted
The taste is the truth!
@ Chikito...local rice is destoned, so there's no fear of dirt in eating it. However, you can't use people's business to do charity. Goods are phased out or banned over a period of time not in a day's decision. What should people who invested huge amounts of money in buying foreign rice for resale do? Because Umahi wants cheap fame & psychophancy he's punishing people and promoting Abakaliki rice
DeleteGood move.
ReplyDeleteI have stopped eating foreign rice until further notice. I'm still in shock after watching where they are turning plastics to rice in china.
ReplyDeleteEven you, DonMayor
DeleteWoah!!
That thing is not rice, it is plastic polymers used in manufacturing...think about it, can you boil plastic and it will absorb water and be edible?
It's a good idea, Abakaliki rice has really improved over the past few years, with the new rice clusters, the rice is well destoned and parboiled. When you see some Ebonyi rice you will be amazed that if the bag isn't shown to you, one might insist it's foreign. The thing there is more clusters need to be built and the rice grown more not only Ebonyi but in other states in Nigeria with capacity for such, so eventually this idea in Ebonyi is replicated in many parts of the country. I have reservations on the outright ban of foreign rice though but then again we need to grow our economy.
ReplyDeleteNigeria and autocracy...FG allowed importers bring in foreign rice and dealers bought it, now a state government wakes up one day & outrightly bans foreign rice without giving room for the dealers to sell of their stock before banning its sale in the state. How's that advancement in any logic? It's not like local production meets local demand, so where is the sense in this action? Has the State tested and proved any rice to be toxic or is it acting on mere assumptions and social media news?
ReplyDeleteProudly Ebonyian...
ReplyDeleteSo you're my ebonyi sister?
DeleteKisses 💋