Association apprehends 2 members for allegedly cheating customers

The Abakaliki Rice Mill Owners Industry Association said it has apprehended two ofits members for using fake scale machines to cheat customers in the market.

Supreme News recalls that the Ebonyi government, in collaboration with the association, had banned the use of scale machines.

The approved measuring method in the mill is the use of a bushel (pan), which contains 100 cups of rice and measures 25 kilogrammes (kg).

Mr Linus Obeji, Chairman of the mill owners, told newsmen in Abakaliki on Friday that the members apprehended had been handed over to the police for proper prosecution.

Obeji, who condemned the act of cheating customers, urged other members to strictly adhere to the executive order of Gov. Francis Nwifuru on the bushel measuring policy.

“A bushel is exactly the 25-kg we all know which contains 100 cups of rice.

“We have accepted the executive order of the governor and we will not hesitate to hand over any members found wanting to the police.

“We are on the move to sanitise the rice mill and get rid of every fraudulent activity regarding dealing with customers.

“This is an executive order from the governor, and every member needs to obey it to renew the hope of the customers in the mill.

“The issue of measuring method must be right because we will not allow any form of fraudulent measurement in the rice mill,” the chairman stated.

Mr. Sunday Oketa, paramount ruler of the Nkaleke Echara-Unuhu autonomous community in the Ebonyi Local Government Area of the state, also condemned the cheating of customers with fake scale machines.

Oketa, one of the founders of the rice mill market in Ebonyi, noted that the facility, founded in 1943, was not known for such fraudulent activities.

He urged dealers in the market to desist from the act and support the state government’s policy towards sustainable development in the mill.

“It is better to engage in genuine business than cheat customers. The government has made it clear that the bushel (pan) should be used for measurement in the market.

“I urge them to strictly adhere to the order and give to the customers the genuine measurement,” he advised.

A check on the prices of the product in the market revealed that a bushel (25 kg) was sold between N23,000 and N27,000, depending on the grade.

The 50 kg bag, including mass and CP, among others, is sold for between N48,000 and N54,000.