BY PETER OKUTU, Abakaliki

ABAKALIKI, the capital of Ebonyi State, has for years enjoyed the bragging right of being called the home of local rice production in Nigeria. Indeed many are familiar with the popular Abakaliki rice which is believed to have a higher nutritional value than the imported polished and parboiled rice, and possibly the best in the world as certified by American experts.

But the continued production of Abakaliki rice seem presently endangered no thanks to the current face-off between the Abakaliki Rice Mill Company and Ebonyi State Government under the leadership of Governor Martin Elechi. The bone of contention is a recent order by the state government to the Company to relocate to Iboko in Izzi Local Government Area of the State within two months. Since the order was issued, the rice millers have been up in arms in protest, vowing that they will not move an inch from their present location.

The order has immediately triggered off panic within the mill which houses over 4,500 milling machines as its owners numbering 450 are now worried about their future and the fate of the establishment. This is why  they have also appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene by compelling Governor Elechi to drop the relocation idea.  It is on record that the Abakaliki Rice Mill is the highest and most stable employer of labour in the state.

The  industry which was built by private individuals with the aim of boosting rice production in the state has over the years given incentives to both prospective and key rice farmers. Because of the high nutritional value of the rice sold at the Mill, many buyers from the North, South West and South East are often times seen buying or milling their rice in the industry.

The rice millers say they are baffled by the planned action of the state government because, according to them, it would not only destabilize the economy of the state but also create food insecurity in the state and the country at large.

According to them: “It is disheartening that Instead of the state government to assist the rice millers by upgrading both the industrial and administrative capacity of the industry to an enviable standard, it decided to mobilize its machineries to chase the rice farmers away from where they had been over 60 years ago”.

A rice farm who spoke with Vanguard Metro (names withheld) hinted that the reason the government was still insisting that they leave where they are presently was because their ouster would enable the smooth take off of the three rice milling clusters built by the state government at the three senatorial zones of the state, which is yet to begin full operation as many have considered the project a waste of public fund.

In a chat with VM, the Chairman of Abakaliki Rice Millers Company, Deacon Joseph Ununu described the action as capable of causing food crisis.
”People come from different parts of the country-Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Port Harcourt, etc, to do rice business here because in the whole world Abakaliki locally produced rice still remains the best in the market today in terms of nutrition.

”I had expected that the government of Ebonyi will come here to assist and encourage us. But this is not case.
”Instead of going to build new rice mills, it is even better to assist the private individuals with small money here to achieve what our President who is farmers-friendly is set out to achieve.

”It is high time the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture intervened to save the situation; they should come to our rescue now.

”We did not build outside the plan. This industry was built in the area mapped out for rice mill when we were under Enugu state. And that is why in the year 2000, a Certificate of Occupancy, C of O, was issued to Abakaliki Rice Mill company by the Ebonyi State government.  Our staffs here are both senior and junior, about 350 while ad hoc staffs are over 1,500.

”When we reported our matter to Abakaliki High Court on a case of fundamental human right but we were not given a good judgement as the case was struck out without any good reason. So we proceeded to the Federal Appeal Court Enugu,” adding that the matter is yet to be heard as sitting has not yet commenced even as the state government has been notified of the development.

Earlier,  the rice miller had won a case at the Industrial Court which restrained the Ebonyi state government from intimidating or relocating the rice millers from their present location.
The Vice Chairman of the Company, Sir Pius Akpogwu lambasted the present administration for not contributing to their welfare in terms of infrastructural development.

In his reaction, the State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Dr. Ifeanyi Ike stated that government policy on the relocation of the rice miller was irreversible, adding that as soon as the new site was completed, the rice millers would relocate.

“The relocation is all about expansion and as soon as the new site is in order, they will move. The government is working on the road leading to the new site. What is going on is part of the challenge of development. The timber shade and the quarry have moved; the University will soon move to its permanent site.
“So, they should allow government’s policy on the development of the state to prevail. I believe that very soon they will all enjoy its dividends soon”.