Fulfilling its commitment to ease the economic strain faced by Nigerians, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced the commencement of the sale of seized rice and other essential food items to the public.
The move aligns with the federal government’s efforts to mitigate the prevailing hardships experienced by the populace.
Speaking to reporters at the Harvey Road, Yaba Lagos, Zonal Headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller General Adewale Adeniyi reaffirmed the government’s determination to alleviate the suffering of the people through strategic interventions and well-thought-out policies.
“In recent months, the government has been addressing the challenges faced within our economy, particularly the lagged effects of insecurity and the current exchange rate issues,” stated Adeniyi. “These challenges have exacerbated concerns about food security, leading to a concerning trend where food items are moving out massively to neighboring countries.”
- a. Over 20,000 bags of assorted grains (Rice, beans, Maize, Guinea corn, millet, Soya beans .
- b. 2500 cartons and 963 bags of dried fish.
- c. Others include, Dried pepper, tomatoes, cooking oil, Maggi (seasoning), Macaroni, salt, sugar and garri. This trend is not sustainable as it puts pressure on our productive capacity and threatens our food security”.
He further emphasized, “To address this, the NCS has remained responsive in carrying out its mandate to protect our borders from the inflow and outflow of restricted goods. One concerning trend noticed is the outflow of food items in huge quantities, posing a threat to our food security.
“It should be noted that the condition for the export of any item is only met upon fulfilling sufficiency internally. In this regard, food items deemed not to fulfil these conditions are showing up in our interceptions made at the borders”.”
Adeniyi underscored the importance of internal sufficiency before considering exports, stating that intercepted food items not meeting this criterion pose a threat to the country’s food security.
