Rice Pyramid: Stakholders Accuse CBN Of Scam

Stakeholders have alleged involvement of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a scam that produced the rice pyramid in Abuja.
They claim that the Abuja rice pyramid was actually imported from neighbouring countries, not produced in Nigeria.
Speaking in a telephone interview, one of the stakeholders in rice production in Kano State,  Senator Hanga Rufai, described the unveiling of the rice pyramid in Abuja as a scam.
According to him, the bulk of the rice they showcased was imported from neighbouring countries to augment the small quantity produced locally in Nigeria.
This, he said, is to cover up the money they have stolen from the Anchor Borrower Programme.
“It is a scam. In a situation where bandits did not allow people to go to the farms, how could they have produced such a huge quantity of rice they showcased?
“Even where the bandits allowed farmers to farm, they didn’t allow them to harvest. In some cases, they went and razed their farms with fire. Not up to 20 per cent of our land last year and the year before was cultivated because of this banditry that is all over the Northwest.
“It is a scam because the Anchor Borrowers coordinators were stealing the money”, he stated.
Senator Rufai continued that “Kano is one of the largest producers of rice in Nigeria. We know what happened. We were there physically when they were buying rice in the market.
“There was production of rice, but not to the volume they showcased. If they said they produced one million tons, I am sure they did not produce up to 1000 tons”, he said.