- During a visit to the Lamido of Adamawa, Dr. Barkindo Mustapha, the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, highlighted the need for joint efforts and sought the monarch’s collaboration in combating the activities of unscrupulous businessmen responsible for the current food insecurity
The Nigerian Customs Service has attributed the ongoing challenges faced by Nigerians, due to President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, to the illicit exportation by unpatriotic individuals.
The service emphasizes the necessity of collaboration from all stakeholders to address the severe food crisis.
During a visit to the Lamido of Adamawa, Dr. Barkindo Mustapha, the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, highlighted the need for joint efforts and sought the monarch’s collaboration in combating the activities of unscrupulous businessmen responsible for the current food insecurity.
The purpose of the visit was to foster cooperation, especially in gathering information about hoarders contributing to the escalating prices of food commodities.
He said, “Because of the current economic reforms going on in the country, we are confronted with food insecurity. This food insecurity is occasioned by the illicit exportation of essential commodities.
“We are urging all to support us in this fight with the necessary information to tackle the menace of hoarding we have faced which has caused a hike in the potential prices of essential food commodities. Food security is the business of every Nigerian. Prices today have gone up extra-ordinarily like we have never had before because unpatriotic individuals are exporting foods that are meant for Nigerians.”
Adelaja, accompanied by other senior customs officers, decried the activities of unpatriotic businessmen.
He said, “People are hungry and you are exporting food out of the country to feed other nations.
This is not in the best interest of the country and we must all join hands to tackle the menace headlong.”
In his remarks, the Galadima of Adamawa, Mustapha Aminu, who represented the Lamido, said the role of the customs in national food security and sustenance was indispensable.
He urged the customs to remain steadfast in its economic and security role while pledging the support of the Emirate to the customs in achieving its goal of tackling the current economic food crisis.
Amid the free fall of the naira to the United States dollar, traders who deal in grains have devised a way to sell their wares to neighbouring countries for higher profits.
Many of them, who spoke to our correspondents, claimed that they preferred to sell their wares to the countries because they had stronger currencies compared to the naira.
This, several experts have said, may lead to hoarding and an artificial grain scarcity and can cause the price of the goods to further head north, thereby leading to a food crisis if nothing is done about it.