Lawmaker Warns Against Intimidation, Harassment In Ebonyi Rice Mill Industry

The member representing Abakaliki South Constituency in Ebonyi State House of Assembly and former Chairman of Ebonyi Rice Mill Industry Limited, Chief Joseph Ununu has warned against intimidation of members of the industry by the leadership of the company.

The Ebonyi Rice Mill Industry located in Abakaliki, the state capital is where the popular Abakaliki rice is processed by rural farmers who have no mill in their localities.

Ununu alleged that there has been intimidation of members of the industry by the leadership which he said may affect the activities of the industry and scare rural farmers away who constitute greater customers of the company.

He, therefore called on the leadership of the industry to stop the intimidation.

Ununu made the call while speaking with journalists in Abakaliki the state capital.

He accused the Chairman of the industry of using policemen to harass and intimidate members of the industry.

"Abakaliki Rice mill industry is our general interest, it is a place that feeds the whole nation. It is not a place one can toll with. If the Chairman discovers that there is a sharp practice in the mill, he shouldn't stop it alone.

"He should carry all the stakeholders along in it. I have governed that rice mill company for two good tenures and God elevated me to the House of Assembly.

"We are about nine patrons of the company, the past leaders of that company must be carried along in whatever that is going on in the company.

"Let us come, join hands and discuss the way forward for that mill instead of him killing the mill. We the stakeholders of that mill are annoyed over his leadership. He is deviating from what we told him to do there.

"Instead of him looking for a way to make that mill okay, he wants to use trouble to indict people. He should stop harassing people in the mill.

"The Chairman should stop using police to intimidate members of the rice mill. The constitution of the mill frowns at it. You don't use police in your governance in the rice mill, people will run away from the mill if you do this.

"If people coming from rural areas see the police there, they will run away from the mill.

"We have a rice mill police station in the mill. If there is any fraud committed in the mill, the police station is the right people to handle it and not going to the police command to bring policemen there and start intimidating people in the rice mill", he stated.