Food Insecurity: Customs to Enforce Nigeria’s Export Prohibition Act, Says CGC Adeniyi
Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has declared that it will fully enforce the Nigerian Export Prohibition Act to eliminate any act of sabotage that will impede economic growth and trigger hunger and starvation in the country.
The NCS says President Bola Tinubu has directed total compliance with the Act, given the country’s current food crisis.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi stated this while interacting with leaders and dealers at the Dawanau International grain market in Kano on Friday.
This move comes amid rising food prices sweeping across the nation, caused by a confluence of factors, including smuggling, hoarding, and the forex crisis.
CGC Adeniyi stated that the act was not implemented in the country because Nigeria had food sufficiency in the past.
“Now that the country is passing through a food crisis, President Tinubu has directed that the act be fully implemented as a way of ensuring that we do not export food needed by the people,” he said
The Customs boss solicited the understanding, support and compliance of the members of the Dawanau International grain market with the directive banning the importation of food items.
“It is unwise for a country to embark on the exportation of food items while her citizens are in dire need,” he said
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Earlier in his welcome remark, the Chairman of the Dawanau Market Development Association, Alhaji Muttaka Isah expressed optimism that the CGC’s visit will strengthen the alliance between the NCS and the market, bringing them and their plights closer to the Federal Government, the Chairman denied allegations that the market is hoarding grains.
He then appealed to the Federal and state government to embark on massive agricultural production by mass mobilizing able bodied Nigerians and providing fertilizers and machineries.
In his own remarks, the Chairman Board of Trustees (BoT) of the market association, Alhaji Abdullahi Mai Doya said the visit is a “renewed hope,” for the merchants that the Federal Government has its interest at heart and is willing to support the market’s growth and development which will in turn boost the nation’s economy.
For his part, market merchant Alhaji Abubakar Usman said that the Dawanau market has the potential to improve the nation’s export volume, but economic sabotage and the activities of non-nationals are hampering this potential.
The Nigerian Export (Prohibition) Act prohibits the export of certain goods from the country.
The Act aims to ensure food security in Nigeria by preventing essential food items from being exported, especially during times of scarcity.
The Schedule of the Act lists specific goods that cannot be exported. These include staple foods like beans, cassava tubers, maize, rice, and yam tubers, along with their products and derivatives. Depending on the situation, the Act can also apply to imported food stuffs.
By PRNigeria
