Tension has gripped Odi-Olowo in Osogbo, Osun State, after operators of the Global Food Initiative reportedly disappeared, leaving residents who paid for subsidised food items stranded.
Several customers reportedly gathered at the organisation’s office on Monday, hoping to collect food items they had already paid for.
Some of the affected residents said they paid large sums into designated accounts after being attracted by the scheme’s cheaper prices.
A resident identified as Mistura said she paid ₦300,000 last Wednesday for 11 bags of rice at ₦27,000 per bag.
She said customers were expected to receive their items about a week after payment.
Mistura added that the same quantity of rice would cost about ₦605,000 at the current market price of ₦55,000 per bag.
Another customer, Olamide, said she paid ₦1.2m for different food items she planned to use for her stepdaughter’s wedding.
She said the payment was made into an account bearing the name Global Food Initiative and operated through an online microfinance bank.
Olamide said she had previously bought two five-litre gallons of groundnut oil from the operators for ₦30,000 each.
Another customer, who spoke anonymously, said the initiative started more than three weeks ago and was expected to run for six months.
She said panic spread on Sunday after a private radio presenter reportedly warned residents about the scheme.
According to her, the operators came to the office on Monday but left after seeing the large crowd waiting to collect their goods.
She claimed that one person had paid ₦35m for various food items, while another showed a receipt indicating a ₦10m payment.
The situation reportedly became tense after some hoodlums attempted to break into the operators’ storeroom.
The police were subsequently deployed to the area to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
The Osun State Police Command confirmed the deployment but said it had not received a formal complaint from any of the affected residents.
The command’s spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said officers were monitoring the situation and waiting for affected customers to provide detailed information.
He said the police had established that the Global Food Initiative collected money from residents on the promise of supplying subsidised food items after advance payment.
The police said investigations would depend on receiving formal complaints and further details from those affected.
