Anybody eating smuggled poultry products is embalming self alive—Minister
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has warned Nigerians consuming smuggled poultry products of causing great danger to their life as the products are now embalmed so that it can last longer when not in cold room.
Speaking in Abuja at a stakeholders’ engagement programme on how to stop the importation and smuggling of frozen poultry and rice into the country, Senator Lokpobiri, noted that it was the duty of the government to protect citizens against any form of harm.
According to him, “It is better for us to eat a smaller quantity of nutritious rice than for us to take poisonous shiploads of rice. Also, we discovered that chemicals used for smuggled poultry products are the ones used for embalming corpses. So what we want Nigerians to know is that anybody who eats smuggled poultry products is actually embalming himself while still alive.”
Lokpobiri told participants at the event, including operators of superstores and international hotels, among others, that enforcement officers from agencies of the Federal Government would start visiting their outlets to ensure that smuggled and illegally imported products were not sold to Nigerians.
Explaining issues on rice smuggling, the minister said “For imported rice, we don’t know how long it had been in their (exporters) silos. Recently, one country decided to bring in a shipload of rice into Nigeria so that we can use it to support the IDPs (Internationally Displaced Persons) in the North-East, but when we subjected the rice to a test, we discovered that the rice was actually poisonous.
“This means that most imported rice have been in silos for 10 to 15 years and have no nutritional value. So what we have told them is that anybody who wants to support the IDPs or any other person in Nigeria should please use our local rice. The argument is that local rice is more expensive, but we say even if it means buying half bags, do it.
Before now, over 90 per cent of frozen chicken and parts sold across Nigerian market are smuggled from either Cotonou or Cameroon.
