President Bola Tinubu has instructed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to give back all seized grains to their rightful owners so they can be sold in local markets.
This directive was announced during a meeting with stakeholders in Kwangwalam, a border town in the Maiadua Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The announcement was made by the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, on Saturday.
Adeniyi explained that President Tinubu’s instruction is to ensure that people can buy food at affordable prices, which is an important step in improving food security in the country.
However, Adeniyi also mentioned that the seized food items can only be sold in Nigerian markets, as per the conditions set by the President.
Explaining the rationale behind the directive, Adeniyi stated, “The whole idea is to promote food security and ensure that Nigerians will not be living with hunger, and Mr. President considers this as one of the strategies that can help address the problem of food security.”
Highlighting the impact of seized food items on the domestic market, Adeniyi revealed, “We have over 120 trucks of food items for export seized, which means a lot of food items were taken out of our markets, leading to the unavailability that created some pressure on the prices of these food items. So, we hope that by the time we restock our markets, it will have some positive effects on the prices.”
While visiting, CGC Adeniyi also had meetings with former President Muhammadu Buhari at his residence and had discussions with the Emir of Daura, Dr. Umar Farouq Umar, at his palace.
The Emir honored CGC Adeniyi with the traditional title of Mabudin Hausa, acknowledging his valuable contributions to the country.
