Wattana Kunwongse, ambassador of
Thailand to Nigeria, has denied the claim of Audu Ogbeh, minister of
agriculture, that rice mills are collapsing in the Asian country.
On Friday, Ogbeh had claimed that
Thailand said President Muhammadu Buhari’s policy on local rice sufficiency was
responsible for the collapse of seven of its mills.
“Just like two weeks ago, the
ambassador of Thailand came to my office and said to me that we have really
dealt with them,” he said.
“But I asked what did we do wrong
and he said unemployment in Thailand was one of the lowest in the world, 1.2
percent, it has gone up to four percent because seven giant rice mills have
shut down because Nigeria’s import has fallen by 95 per cent on rice alone.”
TheCable fact-checked the
minister’s claims and found them to be false.
According to a statement
published by Premium Times on Tuesday, Kunwongse said there is no proof of the
shutdown of Thailand’s major mills.
The ambassador said that at the
meeting, he praised the government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP)
and assured the minister of Thailand’s support in the field of agriculture.
“The report is not only
misleading but a distortion of the actual conversation between myself and the
honourable minister of agriculture at the federal ministry of agriculture and
rural development on 30th January 2018, which was nothing short of positivity
and optimism on both sides,” the statement read.
“During which I praised President
Buhari’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the essence of which is the
endeavour to move the country to a self-sufficiency and export-oriented
economy, and to that worthy cause, Thailand stands ready to work closely with
the Nigerian government in the field of technological transfer and agricultural
machineries.
“At the same meeting, the honourable
minister and I had reached the conclusion that I as ambassador of Thailand to
Nigeria will be working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and rural
development to establish a platform to discuss our mutual benefits in the form
of MOU on Agricultural Cooperation and by forming a bilateral Working Committee
toward that end.
“Thailand’s rice export to the
world in 20 (January-December 2017) reached 11.48 million tons equalising to
$5.1 billion (USD), a 15.54 per cent increase compared to previous years, which
is one of the highest figures on the history Thailand’s rice exportation.
“There is no proof of any
shutdown of Thailand’s major rice mills.”
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It's no surprise at all that Audu Ogbeh lied. It is the nature of Buhari administration. They came in on the wing of lies and deception. Their minister of information is the chief liar, Lai Mohamed. Their lies will work against them this time.
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