Food Security: Nigerian Customs Service Implements Measures To Tackle Challenges
In the face of economic challenges, the Nigerian Customs Service is implementing an import Export prohibition Act to fortify the nation’s food security.
The Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to Voice of Nigeria in Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital.
Adeniyi explained that the move was to align the service with President Bola Tinubu’s focus areas for a national policy that puts the nation on a sustainable path towards ensuring ample provision for its citizens.
The Nigeria Customs Service @CustomsNG announces the implementation of import and export prohibition measures to bolster the government’s food security strategy.
The Comptroller General of Customs CGC Adewale Adeniyi, revealed this during a visit to Voice of Nigeria’s Director… pic.twitter.com/HRZ8xDEttH
— Voice of Nigeria (@voiceofnigeria) April 17, 2024
“We are diligently implementing the import and export prohibition. We are in an economic crisis,” Adeniyi said. “We need all the food that is cultivated in Nigeria to remain in Nigeria during this period of emergency.”
“So we are therefore implementing the export Prohibition Act, especially those that prohibits the exportation of some key food items like grains like yam, like cassava and all of that for this period of emergency.”
“We’re also ensuring that food products for which we have local self-sufficiency, or that we have capacity to produce or not flooded into Nigeria so that they will not distort the price market.”
“Our industries are manufacturers, they need faster clearance time in the port to ensure that the raw materials and the input that they need for manufactured and not delayed on dully in the port. So this and a number of other key measures are things that we are doing to align ourselves with the policy direction of Mr. President,” Adeniyi added.
The CGC noted the need for public engagement and partnership with the media in bridging communication gap between government and citizen to effectively understand policies of government, while pledging to work with Voice of Nigeria to drive awareness.
“We have a very strong economic management team that is doing its best to change the narrative of micro and macroeconomic management in Nigeria,” Adeniyi said. “Top decisions have been taken and these are decisions that has to be communicated to Nigerians.”
“This decision would come with some attendant pains. In our own sector, we have seen the effects of the removal of subsidy, what it has created. We have seen the effects which the matter of the various exchange windows have done to foreign currency exchange rates.”
“And we have seen the attendance effects in the number of declarations, the number of customs declarations, the volume of cargo imports, that has done to us in our operations, and we also need to communicate this to the citizenry.”
“It’s important that they have a good understanding that government has to take some of these decisions once in a while. So this is why organisations like the voice of Nigeria is indeed very, very strategic in communicating the vision of governments to the citizenry,” he concluded.
Earlier, the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, Jibrin Baba Ndace, highlighted the need to effectively communicate policies and strategies of Agencies like the Customs to the public to promote compliance and effective service delivery.
“We are willing to partner with you with my team, we are willing to work together to fight fake news, misinformation and disinformation about Nigerian Customs,” Ndace said.
Olusola Akintonde.
