In fulfillment of the promise made a few days ago as aligning with the federal government’s avowed desire to mitigate the hardship presently being experienced by the general populace, the Nigeria Customs Service is today commencing the sale of seized, but verifiably determined healthy for consumption rice to the public.
The Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, Thursday affirmed the determination of the government to alleviate the suffering of the people through calculated interventions and clear thought out policies as he spoke with press men at the Harvey road, Yaba Lagos, Zonal Headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service.
He said “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. These challenges have exacerbated concerns about foods security leading to a concerning trend where food items are moving out massively to neighbouring countries. Some of the items include:
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 added “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”.
The CGC informed the audience that “As part of our ongoing commitment to safeguarding the food security of Nigerians, the NCS has secured approval from the government to dispose of these seized food items to needy Nigerians at discounted prices.