Business News
Border closure bites harder as Customs raid border town market
Several foreign bags of rice were seized by the officials of Nigeria Customs Service in the commercial border town main market in Mubi.
Several foreign bags of rice were seized by the officials of Nigeria Customs Service in the commercial border town main market in Mubi, Adamawa State. This is where smuggling activities are said to be high despite the border closure directive of the federal government.
The Customs officials raided the Mubi town market with the aid of the Nigeria Police Force. The Comptroller, Kamardeen Olumoh, who led the raid, said smuggling had become a menace in the area with foreign rice being their specialisation.
Nigeria has been losing revenue to smuggling for decades due to the porous border that separates the country from Niger, Benin, Chad and Cameroon. The border closure had been announced to prevent smuggling of items into the country after the Federal Government said the neighbouring countries were not forthcoming on their promise to curb smuggling of items from their countries.
Mubi, den of smugglers: Mubi is located close to the Yedseram river, around Cameroon’s northern border. According to Olumoh, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, issued a directive to curb smuggling in the town by raiding shops and stores.
This became necessary as smuggling activities had begun to take over the town, so the raid serves as a warning shot to the smugglers operating in the area, as the Customs arrested three suspects. He said the constitution backed the ransacking of the market without a warrant.
“The menace of smuggling around this axis has been alarming for quite some time. The Comptroller-General of Customs ordered that the operations be carried out, that Mubi market must be mopped up of all smuggled items, especially foreign rice.”
[READ MORE: Border closure: Senate to probe closure of Nigerian businesses in Ghana]
He added, “Today, we are in the market and we are able to evacuate large quantity of rice and this is a clear signal to smugglers.
“We are backed by the law. Section 147 of Customs and Excise Management Act has given us the power to enter or search premises day or night, to break and enter, make arrest; in fact, without warrant and that is exactly what we did today,” he said in a Punch report.
Who is benefiting from border closure? The closure of the land border continues to affect the activities of smugglers who now create new methods to smuggle foreign rice into Nigeria. Some cars have been caught with rice hidden in their compartment and other vehicle parts, in a bid to avoid detection.
Also, the border closure has caused price inflation in household items, including rice and livestock. The price jump is affecting the purchasing power of Nigerians as it digs a hole into their wallets. But with the entry of new local rice brands, high price of local rice is expected to crash.
Meanwhile, Hameed Ali, disclosed in a report by Nairametrics, that the agency collected N9.2 billion in one day and subsequently had been raking in between N4.7 billion and N5.8 billion daily. This he said was as a result of the border closure exercise initiated by the Federal Government. Nairametrics had reported that immediately after the partial closure of borders, the customs service recorded N115.6 billion in September.
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Economy & Politics
SERAP asks Buhari to probe N39.5 billion duplicated, mysterious projects
SERAP has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the reported N39.5 billion duplicated and mysterious projects inserted in the 2021 budget.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the reported N39.5 billion duplicated and mysterious projects inserted in the 2021 budget.
This is to know if public funds have been diverted in the guise of implementing the projects and prosecute those allegedly involved including those from the executive and the National Assembly.
The request from SERAP follows a report from BudgiT last week, where they alleged that there are 316 duplicated capital projects worth N139.5 billion in the 2021 budget.
This disclosure is contained in a public statement issued by SERAP on Sunday, May 9, 2021, and can be seen on its website.
SERAP said that the investigation of the alleged duplicated and mysterious projects, which are part of the 2021 appropriation bill of N13.588 trillion, should establish whether public funds have been mismanaged, diverted or stolen in the guise of implementing these projects.
What SERAP is saying in its letter
In the letter dated 8th May 2021 and signed by SERAP, Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare said: “The misallocation of public funds for duplicated and mysterious projects has seriously undermined the ability of the indicted MDAs, and the government to ensure respect for Nigerians’ human rights through developing and implementing well-thought-out policies, plans, and budgets.”
The letter from SERAP partly reads, “BudgIT had in a report last week stated that there are 316 duplicated capital projects worth N39.5 billion in the 2021 budget. The duplicated and mysterious projects are contained in the 2021 appropriation bill of N13.588 trillion signed into law in December 2020.”
These damning revelations suggest a grave violation of the public trust, and Nigerians’ rights to education, health, water, sanitation, and clean and satisfactory environment because the indicted MDAs have misallocated public funds at the expense of the people’s access to basic public services, and enjoyment of rights.”
SERAP urges you to ask the heads of the MDAs involved to explain why they allegedly failed to ensure strict compliance with constitutional and international standards of transparency and accountability in the preparation, processes and decisions on their budgets, and to return any misallocated public funds to the public treasury.”
Investigating and prosecuting any allegations of mismanagement, diversion and stealing of public funds budgeted for the 316 duplicated and mysterious projects would allow your government to use the budget to effectively promote Nigerians’ access to essential public goods and services.”
Publishing the ‘implementation status’ of the duplicated and mysterious projects would allow Nigerians to hold their government to account in the spending of public funds. This is particularly true for marginalized and excluded groups, such as people living in poverty, women, children, and persons with disabilities, as the budget has a disproportionate impact on their welfare.”
We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, the Incorporated Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”
SERAP also urges you to direct Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning to publish full details of current ‘implementation status’ of the duplicated and mysterious projects, and any spending on the projects to date, including the 115 projects inserted in the budget of the Ministry of Health; the 23 projects inserted in the budget of the Ministry of Education, and 10 projects inserted in the budget of the Ministry of Water Resources.
The following ministries are reportedly involved in the duplicated and mysterious projects: Ministry of Health with 115 projects; Ministry of Information and Culture with 40 projects; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with 25 projects; Ministry of Education with 23 projects; Ministry of Transportation with 17 projects; and Ministry of Science and Technology with 17 projects.”
Others are the Ministry of Environment with 13 projects; Ministry of Power with 11 projects; Ministry of Labour and Employment with 11 projects, and Ministry of Water Resources with 10 projects.”
The letter was copied to Mr Malami; Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, Chairman Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); and Mrs Ahmed, the Finance Minister.
