The Senate has called for the certification of relief materials, particularly rice and vegetable oil, donated to Internally Displaced Persons by the Nigeria Customs Service for health reasons.
Sen. Hope Uzodinma, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff, made the call while briefing newsmen on Monday in Abuja.
Uzodinma called on National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other relevant agencies of government to always certify the relief materials fit for consumption before they were released to the IDPS.
He said while donating the seized items to displaced persons was laudable, necessary steps must be taken to certify them fit for consumption to avoid any health problems.
“In the process of trying to create help you don’t need to cause more damage.
“All I’m saying is that the vegetable oil that are seized, we don’t know where they are coming from. We don’t know the integrity of the product.
“The rice, is also a perishable item. So the relevant agencies of government that will confirm that these products are fit to be to be consumed should please clear them before they are sent to IDPs .
“This is because when they get to IDPs, they are handicapped.
“They may not be in the position to know which one is expired and which one is not expired and if any cholera breaks through there it will be a case of genocide,” Uzodinma said. (NAN)