Farmers in Imo State have raised alarm over disappearance of fertilizers meant for them this farming season from the Warehouse.
The Farmers who pleaded for anonymity informed Trumpeta that heavy trucks were loading the products from a Warehouse located at Mbaise road, Owerri, and heading outside the state to unknown destinations.
When our Reporter visited the warehouse sited opposite ABC Transport Company, Owerri, a fleet of Trucks were sighted parked on the road side, while loaded ones were departing the said Warehouse.
On enquiry about the destination of the loaded Trucks, one of the Drivers who simply gave his name as Musa Manga, refused to disclose any information about the vehicles destination, but instead asked the Reporter’s business in the activities of the Trucks.
Some of the petty traders selling their wares along the busy Mbaise road said they have noticed the activities going at the Warehouse, but said they had thought the Trucks were off-loading fertilizers, until they discovered otherwise.
When Trumpeta contacted the Imo State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Victoria Ijezie, she confirmed the movement of fertilizers out from the Warehouse, but said the Trucks were not moving the products outside Imo State, but were moving them to the various Local Governments of the State.
She said that what was stored in the Warehouse was 3 metric tons of fertilizers, which she said was not even enough to go all round farmers in the state, talkless of taking them outside the state.
The female Commissioner maintained that each Truck must be cleared, in making sure that it was loaded with authentic approval and heading to the right direction.
She said only registered Farmers are allocated the fertilizers, which she said sold from N3,000 to N3.500, pointing out that members of the Imo House of Assembly were also allocated fertilizers for their constituents.
Mrs Ijezie posited that her detractors were out to feed Imo people with wrong information on the distribution of the fertilizers, adding that she personally took charge of the fertilizers meant for Ideato North and South LGAs.
Asked if she was aware that the Trucks could load the products and head outside the state instead of the LGAs, and if the Trucks are monitored, she frankly answered that her Ministry cannot monitor all the Trucks loading from the Warehouse.
Meanwhile, information from our Reporters said that there were no fertilizers supplied to the LGAs, even as some of the SOLADs contacted denied seeing any fertilizer.
When Trumpeta spoke to about six members of the Imo Assembly from the three political zones, they said they were not aware of any fertilizer allocation to their constituents.
However, as Trumpeta visited the Warehouse yesterday morning, all the Trucks were gone.
