#EndBadGovernance: Don't Hide Our Palliatives in Your Churches, Protesters Warn Christian Association of Nigeria in Edo

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By Reporter

Some unruly angry prosters today, sent strong warning to leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), threatening to sack any church where any palliatives that was meant to alleviate their hunger are found.

Their threat comes after the highly political christian association admitted ownership of the several bags of rice that were looted from a warehouse in Urora, Benin City by protesters yesterday.

It will be recalled that the state government had denied ownership of the rice that were hidden in a trailer in front of the warehouse and shortly after, two separate videos of men who adorned Fez cap and t-shirts with the inscription of ‘Edo State Food Support Programme’, surfaced to claim ownership. One of them also claimed that CAN bought the rice for N2bn (Two Billion Naira) with the donations by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

The looted rice assumed feverish dimension after the video went viral on social media which has pitched the ruling People’s Democratic Government and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) against each other.

In a press conference, the APC insisted that the Urora rice was part of the 20 trucks of rice donated to Edo State by the President Bola Tinubu federal government, which was denied by agents of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

While claiming ownership of the looted rice, the State chairman of CAN, Irekpono Omoike, said the hidden but looted rice in a private residence, we’re owned by a “vendor contracted by the association’s implementation committee for the Christian Feeding Programme.”

Reacting, he said: “There is a very important issue to correct a wrong notion that is circulating that the rice being distributed by the State Government is rice supplied by the Federal Government and re-bagged. This is misinformation. It is a very wrong notion that needs to be corrected.

“Earlier this year, the Edo State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria had a meeting with Governor Godwin Obaseki where he shared his concern on how to reach out to vulnerable persons and the poor who are bearing the hardship of the economic downturn in the country.

“After the meeting, an implementation committee for the Christian Feeding Programme was set up where we designed a programme on how to reach out to the poor with food palliatives. The governor released the 1st batch of the funding for the programme, which is N1 billion naira to purchase rice to be distributed.

“This was done and in May 2024 we flagged off the distribution of the first phase at the Baptist Convention Ground in Benin City”, he said.

Omoike added that the Christian Feeding Programme which is in its second phase of distributing relief materials to “vulnerable Christian Groups” was funded by the Edo State Government with 2 billion naira.

He said in the First Phase of the Programme 60,000 bags of 10kg rice were distributed.

He continued his story that for the second phase, another batch of N1 billion was released by the state government to continue the exercise.

Omoike admitted that the association bought the N2 billion rice from the market. “We purchased another consignment and distributed it through the structure of CAN. This process has been ongoing since July.

“In the last few days, we have successfully distributed to all the churches that did not receive the 1st batch across the 18 LGAs.

“In this batch, we were able to reach 56,250. There’s another consignment in this last phase, just as we did in the 1st phase, meant for churches not under CAN, since this was really done in partnership with CAN”, he said.

In an earlier video, the State Secretary of the CAN Implementation Committee for the Christian Feeding Programme, Osagie Ehrunmwunse, added that the truck in the viral video where bags of rice were looted belonged to a logistic company distributing the rice.

“The truck supplying down from Ekpoma had a breakdown the previous night. The rice was meant for the Seventh Day Adventist, Latter Day Saints, vulnerable children, orphanages, and widows among others.

“In an attempt for us to take that rice for safekeeping, that was when the products were looted by hoodlums. So that was exactly what happened on Thursday morning.

“Where the incident happened was not exactly a government warehouse. It is the house belonging to one of the suppliers of the rice for distribution.”

One of the protesters who spoke on behalf of his others, pondered over the explanations given by CAN. “How come the trailer load of rice was being moved to a private residence in the cover of night?

How can 60,000 rice of 10kg amount to N1 billion? Why did the trailer bring the rice for Seventh Day Adventist come to Benin City from Ekpoma first before going back to Ehor?”

Another protester asked why Obaseki selected CAN to handle the distribution instead of the Civil Society groups that can identify the suffering masses in Edo State.

“We are here under the rain protesting and demanding for good governance and the food for the masses are hidden in houses and churches loyal to Obaseki. We dey come for them,” the young man who claimed to be a student and member of ‘Winner’ church fumed.