President Bola Tinubu has issued a directive for complete adherence to the Export Prohibition Act regarding food items to curb the smuggling of commodities out of the country.
During a meeting with the leaders and members of the Dawanau International Grains Market Kano on Friday, the Comptroller-General of the service, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, made this revelation.
He explained that the Act had not been enforced previously due to Nigeria’s food sufficiency at the time.
He noted that with the nation facing a food crisis, the President had directed for the full implementation of the Act to prevent the exportation of food items during times of dire need.
- He stated, “It is unwise for a reasonable and sincere country to embark on the exportation of food items when her citizens need them.
- “The President has asked me to request your understanding that during this period, we will implement the laws forbidding the exportation of certain grains such as beans, rice, and millet, among many others. We do not want those that are locally produced in Nigeria and those that are already imported to be re-exported out of the country.
- “You are big stakeholders in this direction and these are reasons why I am here to interact with you and solicit your support,”
Grain dealers call on FG to relax conditions on beans imports
Alhaji Muttaka Isah, the President of the Dawanau International Market, informed the comptroller-general about several challenges encountered by members of the association, including “unfounded allegations in some quarters that our dealers hoard grains in their warehouses.”
- He said, “I want to seize this opportunity to deny this baseless allegation and to inform Nigerians that we do not hoard foodstuffs.
- “Whatever grains we procure from the growers and other sources, we store them in our warehouses for a while, before we supply them directly to our customers in the markets.
- “We appeal that the operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service relax their conditions on the importation of beans and other foodstuffs from the Niger Republic to enable us to transport the goods seamlessly for the benefit of our customers in particular and Nigeria in general.”
Backstory
The federal government through the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has in recent times begun enforcing the ban on food exports especially grains in a bid to shore up the food supply in the country.
President Tinubu had earlier stated that Nigeria will not open her borders to food imports stating the country can feed itself.
The cost of major staple foods has risen significantly in the past few months further strangling household expenditure and pushing vulnerable populations into poverty and hunger.
