The Controller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has ordered Customs, to return the food items seized at the border communities to the rightful owners, with the requirement that the items should be sold in Nigerian markets.
Adeniyi made this disclosure on Saturday in Katsina while meeting with people from border areas at Kwangwalam and Mai’Adua border stations.
He said the directive was given by the president in his mind gesture of ensuring that people of the country have enough food to buy at cheaper prices from the markets.
“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.
“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.
He explained that Tinubu had made a decision to use his authority not based on legal guidelines, “but rather reflecting the deep sense of generosity he holds towards Nigeria.”
“In doing so, he has directed that those food items that were going out of the country that have been seized in various border areas should be returned to the owners on the condition that those goods would be sold in the Nigerian markets.
“So, we will be monitoring you to know if there is a violation of this. Those food items will be returned, and it is a directive that we will pass them back into the Nigerian markets,” Adeniyi said.
The CGC visited former President Muhammadu Buhari in his country home of Daura as well as the emir of Daura, Dr Umar Farouq Umar in his palace where he was conferred with the traditional title of Mabudin Hausa by the emir.
