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A Northern group, Civil Society For Credible Election has stated that erstwhile president, Muhammadu Buhari should be blamed for the economic crisis plaguing the nation.
The group lamented that President Bola Tinubu inherited the challenges from his predecessor.
They shared their reservations while addressing newsmen in Kano.
Umar argued that Tinubu had since hit the ground working to reverse the situation through various steps and policies put in place.
He subsequently called on Nigerians to exercise patience with the President as things will be better in no distant time in the country.
According to him, “We recognize the fact that Nigerians are passing through hardship at the moment. It is a result of a global economic meltdown, but only further compounded by some shortcomings of the last administration under former president Muhammadu Buhari.
“What people need to know about Nigeria’s present challenges is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited them from the past administration of former president Buhari but as a determined leader, Tinubu is pulling all strings together to overcome them head-on.
“Nigerians are all living witness to the phantom steps and policies of the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address the country’s sociocultural, economic and political indices.
“What President Tinubu need from all Nigerians now is patience, cooperation and understanding of the administration reforms policies. These reforms are strategic and competent enough to in no distant time make all Nigerians proud of their beloved country.”
Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Igboho, has described as incorrect, the assertion made by some Nigerians that President Bola Tinubu is responsible for the rot in the country.
Tinubu, who was sworn in on May 29, 2023, announced the removal of the subsidy during his first address, a decision that increased the cost of petrol and economic inflation.
This is against the backdrop that the Buhari-led government did not make provisions for petroleum subsidies in the 2023 budget.
Speaking during a visit to the palace of the monarch of Igboho town in Oyo State on Friday, Adeyemo said, “Some people believe it is Tinubu that spoils the country; it is not Tinubu. When Buhari was in government, I was shouting for us (Yoruba) to be united and free ourselves from slavery, saying that Buhari did not have anything to offer us.
“Let’s free ourselves and divide Nigeria. Some people were saying it is what he will eat that he is looking for. Buhari handed over spoiled Nigeria to Tinubu. Tinubu spent six months in office; we are cursing him. What did he do?”
On July 1, 2021, Igboho escaped from a deadly night raid on his Ibadan residence by the operatives of the Department of State Service.
Buhari knocked for economic crisis, EFCC defies order with night raid: Weekly news recap
He was subsequently arrested in Benin Republic on his way to Germany on July 19 together with his wife, Ropo. Igboho was, however, released in October 2023.
The Yoruba nation agitator returned to Nigeria about 30 months after for the burial of his mother, who died on July 22, 2023.
In a video that has since gone viral on social media, Igboho was spotted sitting on top of a car while being welcomed by a mammoth crowd in his home town of Oyo State.
While addressing his supporters at the monarch’s palace, he accused Buahari of sending the security agency to kill him because he was defending the rights of the Yoruba people.
He said, “Buhari sent his soldiers and DSS to arrest me in my house because I said Yoruba’s are not slaves to Fulani. Fulani cannot suppress us in our father’s land.
“Fulani can’t stop our fathers and mothers from going to their farms. Fulani can’t dare it. But, I’m back with the power of God and authority, not that of man. I use the power that God used to create the universe.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission has insisted that the 2023 poll was free and fair, noting that it reflected the wishes of Nigerians.
The commission added that an analysis of the poll showed that no party dominated it and the spread of results across party lines was better than in previous elections conducted in the country.
INEC’s position was contained in a 526-page document titled, ‘The Report of 2023 General Election,’ made available to Saturday PUNCH.
The commission, however, noted that the currency swap by the Central Bank of Nigeria, attacks on INEC facilities, and a few glitches were the challenges encountered during the elections.
The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, described the poll as unique “in terms of keeping to the timetable, new 80 clauses in the Electoral Act, and introduction of new technologies which made voting easier.”
Olumekun stated, “In keeping with our tradition over the last four electoral cycles, and our commitment to transparency, we are pleased to announce the release of the official INEC report on the 2023 general election.
“The report showcases the election’s unparalleled diversity in party representation, demonstrating significant democratic progress. This election saw four political parties winning governorship races, seven parties winning senatorial seats, eight in federal constituencies and nine in state legislatures, illustrating a broad shift in political representation across Nigeria.”
He further stated that the 2023 general elections were “perhaps the best planned and most innovative election in Nigeria”.
“The election witnessed the highest number of eligible voters and voting locations across the country with the participation of over one million election duty officials and the deployment of enormous logistic requirements including over 100,000 vehicles and about 4,000 boats protected by gunboats,” the report added.
Meanwhile, political parties have criticised the 2023 general elections report released by the INEC.
The chief spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, blamed INEC for covering its “illegality,” adding that the release of the report was medicine after death.
Tanko said, “This is medicine after death. INEC should have made this particular clarification at the time of the election and promised to make amends and pick up from where they stopped.
“However, what is happening is that INEC is trying to cover its tracks after the judiciary had one way or the other legalised their illegality.
“Let me explain better. If INEC says that this is what they are going to do and later on goes to the court to say that they have the right to do manual collation then the court justifies that particular action, it is unacceptable. It is a conspiracy.”
In the same vein, the presidential candidate and former chairman, of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Yabagi Sani, urged INEC to deal with the culprit involved in the glitches it encountered during the elections.
“Whoever was responsible for the glitches should be dealt with in a manner that should serve as a deterrent for the future because accountability is key.
“INEC should be commended for coming out clean. They should be given a pass mark. We will keep improving in our electoral process. We can now point out exactly what happened,” Sani noted.
The spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, Debo Ologunagba, when contacted said the party needed to critically look at the report before making its decisions known.
But the Publicity Director of the All Progressives Congress, Bala Ibrahim, said, “Nigerians should salute INEC for being honest and sincere by admitting errors or failures on its side. Whatever we do, we should admit that we are humans and we are not infallible.
“Everything that is technologically based or IT-based is liable to some failures. Even in established democracies where they have perfect infrastructures on IT, they still have glitches here and there.”
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has accused the Nigerian government of inflicting hardship on lecturers and students.
Speaking on Friday at a press conference organised at the University of Lagos by the Lagos Zone of the union, the Zonal Coordinator, Prof Adelaja Odukoya, explained that it was imperative to update Nigerians about the events that transpired after the last nationwide strike that was suspended on October 14, 2022, ASUU’s interactions with the present administration, and the possible consequences of the lack of notable actions by the authorities.
ASUU had over time lamented the government’s refusal to fulfil the agreements it had with lecturers.
Odukoya said the government had shown consistent insensitivity to agreements and the well-being of patriotic academics in Nigeria’s public universities.
“The government has persisted in inflicting misery on lecturers and students in Nigeria, despite their sincere efforts to elevate our public universities to a global standard. ASUU is unfazed in its patriotic endeavors.
“To reposition the Nigerian university system, we call on other patriots in the media, labour movement, student organisations, and civil society organisations to join ASUU in the rejection of the government’s master-slave posture on labour matters,” he said.
Odukoya insisted that despite its promises ahead of assuming office, the Bola Tinubu administration had failed to live up to expectations concerning the issues that had been at the forefront of the union’s recent strike actions, the last being from February to October 2022.
Some of the issues he highlighted were the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU 2009 agreement, withheld salaries, unpaid arrears of earned academic allowance, removal from integrated personnel and payroll information system, public universities and the treasury single account, and proliferation of universities.
Speaking on TETFUND and foreign partnerships, Odukoya said, “As if the abuse and violation of TETFUND by the government are not enough, our union has further noted reports in the media, not refuted, of TETFUND’s intention to help King’s College, London, to establish a medical school in Nigeria in the name of partnership.
“We urge the leadership of the Fund to provide further updates on this proposed course of action and allay fears that it is contemplating funds meant for the development of Nigerian institutions for the development of foreign ones. We believe very strongly that there are many areas in which the agency can strengthen its interventions to the benefit of Nigerian universities.”
The federal government has said that the Port-Harcourt refinery would begin operation by producing two million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol and 2.2 million litres of diesel per day.
The government said this after an inspection tour of the facility along with the leadership of organised labour.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, who disclosed this, said the refinery was 80 percent completed.
She explained that the old plant would begin with 54,000 barrels per day, while the new plant which is currently going through its last phase of completion would also begin production before the end of the year.
“The combined capacity of the two plants, when fully on stream, would produce 10 million litres of PMS per day,” Onyejeocha said in a statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun on Thursday.
A scheduled visit to the Port-Harcourt refinery was one of the points listed in the 16 – points agreement reached with the government last year by organised labour.
The minister reiterated the government’s commitment to social dialogue with organized labour and other stakeholders towards achieving industrial peace and harmony, while prioritising workers’ welfare.
She appealed to union leaders to see the strike as the last option.
The minister said: “Issuing of constant strike threat could send wrong signals to potential investors. This is not healthy for our business environment.”
According to the statement, the minister met with the leadership of TUC to review the progress reports of agreements reached in October 2023 between the government and organised labour.
“During the review, the minister read each item on the memorandum of understanding among which were the payment of four out of six months on wage award, the committee of minimum wage review, payment of outstanding salaries and wages of tertiary education workers in federal- owned educational institutions, suspension of VAT on diesel, payment of N25,000 conditional cash transfer to 3,140,819 households, including the pensioners.
“While she said the government has made a huge financial commitment to the provision of CNG Buses and conversion Kits, she also explained that the procurement process was slowing down the launch but measures were already in place to fast-track the process.
“The minister explained that the government has commenced a series of engagements with relevant stakeholders on tax incentives, just as the leadership crises rocking NURTW and RTEAN have been resolved.
“Among the progress made are subsidized distribution of fertilizers to farmers across the country, government’s engagement with various state governments and the private sector on the issue of the implementation of wage award for their workers, and plans to encourage MSEs in the country to create jobs and boost the economy.
“Speaking on the inspection visit to the Port-Harcourt refinery by TUC and federal government delegation, the minister said reports by organized labour and government established that the Port-Harcourt refinery is 80% completed,” the statement said.
The leadership of TUC led by its Secretary General, Nuhu Toro commended the government for the progress recorded so far in implementing a substantial part of the agreement, but differed with the government on some of the items.
He said, for instance, that while the issue of RTEAN has been resolved, that of NURTW has not been resolved.
“If the issue of the president of the union has not been resolved, it suggests that the issue of NURTW has not been resolved.
“You have carefully done justice to the items, and we commend you and the federal government, but we expect fulfillment of all the agreements,” said Nuhu Toro.
He said some of the items have not been fully implemented but from their own assessment, the government has achieved 50% implementation.
According to Toro, “50% is a pass mark, but we urge you to do more. We know there are challenges, but we are very optimistic that they could be addressed”.
While the minister disagreed with the 50% rating by the union, citing reasons, Comrade Toro said 50% is a good performance on the side of the government.
Deputy President of TUC, Kayode Alakija, thanked the minister for her consistency with union leaders and appealed to her to back some of the gray areas with data to reconcile them.
He said: “We will appreciate it if you back up the VAT with empirical data. You said you got the information from the office of the Finance Minister. So, we would appreciate it if they could supply you with data on how they arrived at the information.”
Among those present at the meeting were the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ismail Abubakar; the Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, M A. Yusuf and other directors and departmental heads of the ministry.
On the side of the TUC, were its Secretary General, Toro, its Vice President, Alakija Kayode, Deputy President, and two others.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has disclosed that he has no plans to leave the party.
He also described insinuations from certain quarters that he was leaving the party as the handwork of political mischief makers.
Obi, in a statement on Friday, signed by the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) said enemies of democracy bent on causing crisis in the Labour Party are the ones spreading rumours about his defection.
The LP candidate, in a statement signed by his media aide, Michael Jude Nwolisa, on Friday, dismissed the trending fake and fallacious news story suggesting that he was parting ways with the Labour Party.
“This is not true and it did not originate from Obi or the Obidient Movement but from mischief makers bent on sowing the seed of discord in the party.
“These rising misdemeanors on the party did not start today as they set out to destroy and disorganize the party all to get at Obi and derail the inevitable journey of rescuing Nigeria.
“Presently our principal is preoccupied with making Nigeria work not on partisan politics which ended on October 26, 2023, when the Supreme Court of the land took their final decision on the general elections.
“Those bent on creating a crisis in the Labour Party are clearly enemies of democracy wishing for the failed status quo to remain.
“OBI’s focus at the moment is on creating an environment where democracy is to be practiced according to the defined tenets not the rascality and all forms of impunity prevalent in the country today
“Peter Obi, therefore, would like to assure Nigerians, particularly the Obidient family that his way with Labour is unshaken and intact and that the struggle to rescue Nigeria from the criminal gangs holding it down will not stop until it’s achieved through the will of the Nigerian people,” the statement reads.
Former National President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Olumide Akpata, has emerged as the Labour Party, LP, governorship candidate in Edo State.
Akpata won the LP primary election held in Benin City, the state capital, on Friday.
He was declared the winner of the primary after polling the highest number of votes.
Akpata scored 316 votes to defeat other aspirants in a landslide victory.
The President Bola Tinubu-led federal government has announced plans to create 100,000 jobs for Nigerians before May 29, 2024.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Job Creation, Office of the Vice-President, Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, made the disclosure.
According to the presidential aide, the target is to create 384,000 jobs in four years, but the initial 100,000 target is by May 29, 2024.
Adekunle-Johnson, made this known while speaking at the inaugural Job Creation and MSME Quarterly Communications Forum, organised by the Job Creation & MSME Secretariat, Office of the Vice President.
He said the government was focusing on job creation in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.
“We are saying that by May 29, we will create at least 100,000 jobs. The target is to create 384,000 jobs in four years,” he said.
Adekunle-Johnson also noted that the initiative would be a partnership between the Federal Government and Access Bank.
“Today’s programme is to announce our partnership with the Access Bank, how the bank is trying to support the government with regard to access to funding for MSMEs.
“Right now, the interest rate for loans is between 27 and 29 per cent, but the Access bank is giving us at the rate of 15 per cent.
“The bank is committing N50 billion to support MSMEs. They are even now saying that if you are an MSME and you want to collect N1 to N3 million, don’t worry; the collateral that they need is simplified to enable you to have access to the money,” he stated.
Earlier, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who was represented at the event by the Director-General, Voice of Nigeria, Jibrin Ndace, said the Federal Government was committed to creating an enabling environment for MSMEs in the country in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has apprehended no fewer than 48 students from Kwara State University (KWASU) and two Malete residents over alleged involvement in Internet fraud, commonly known as Yahoo Yahoo.
The anti-graft agency claimed the arrest was made following reliable intelligence on the increasing prevalence of internet fraud activities in the state, particularly within educational institutions.
In an effort to combat corruption and illicit activities associated with yahoo-yahoo, the EFCC reportedly conducted thorough investigations, tracking down the suspects and apprehending them in various locations where they were hiding, following days of surveillance on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
Among the suspects are Idris Yekini, Ayantola Segun, Adeshina Taheeb, Mustapha Alamin, Usman Harun, Oladimeji Oseni, Qudus Temitope, Adewunmi Israel, Lukman Uthman, Alamin Ibitoye, Usman Sadiq, Musbau Waris, Ibrahim Oluwatosin, Oladele Israel, and Rafiu Ashimu.
Others arrested include Aransiola Oluwaseun, Akolade Adetola Toheeb, Joseph Samuel, Adewuyi Quadri, Adebayo Olamilekan, Ogunride Gabriel, Abolaji Ismail, Ogundele Samuel Ejiro, Musa Ali Olawale, Isah Oluwatumishe, Abdullahi Abdulmajib, Abdulrahman Abubakar, Olaosebikan Martins, Mazeed Ayomide, Oyeniyi Michael, Moses Bright, Oladipo Victor, Shehu Abdugafar, Abdulmalik Khalid Timileyin, Muhammad Nabil, Adebayo Qudus, and Owoeye Adeyanju.
Additionally, Abdulwaheed Zakariyah, Olaleye Gbenga, Victor Kayode, Samad Olarewaju, Raheem Ayomide, Ismail Abdulbasit, Oluyedun Khalid, Moshood Lawal, Utman Abayomi, and Aransiola Joshua were also apprehended. Furthermore, Babalola Razaq and Godwin Ouna Ejika, residents of Malete, were included in the arrests.
During the operation, authorities seized nine (9) luxury vehicles, twenty-four (24) laptops, and various brands of mobile phones from the suspects.
Upon the completion of the ongoing investigations, the suspects will be promptly presented before the court for arraignment.
The Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, has granted bail to former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed in the sum of ₦50,000,000 on charges related to an alleged N10 billion fraud.
The court also mandated that Ahmed provide two sureties owning landed properties within Ilorin, alongside surrendering his international passport as part of the bail conditions.
This development follows the arraignment of Ahmed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 12-count charge centering on fraud, as reported by Naija News.
The former governor faced the court on Friday, where allegations of misappropriating state funds during his tenure were laid out against him.
Notably, media personnel were restricted from accessing the courtroom during Ahmed’s arraignment, sparking concerns over transparency in the proceedings.
The EFCC’s case against Ahmed includes accusations of diverting N1.6 billion allocated for security and operational costs in Kwara State to finance personal expenses, such as chartering private jets.
A particular count in the charges highlights the alleged fraudulent conversion of N400 million from a N1 billion short-term loan secured by the Kwara State Government from Ecobank Nigeria Limited.
These funds, intended for completing ongoing state projects, were purportedly misused under Ahmed’s administration.
The EFCC said, “Ahmed (while being the Governor of Kwara State) between 2015 and 2019 in Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this honourable court used an aggregate sum of N1,610,730,500, property of Kwara State Government, meant for the security and running cost of the Government of Kwara State, to charter private jets through Travel Messengers Limited on different occasions for your local travels and which sum you reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of your unlawful act, to wit: criminal breach of trust or theft.”
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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has released its report on the 2023 general election.
The commission said the publication of the report is in keeping with its tradition over the last four electoral cycles and commitment to transparency.
This was made known in a statement by Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.
Olumekun said the Report showcases the election’s unparalleled diversity in party representation, demonstrating significant democratic progress.
According to him, the 2023 general election saw four political parties winning gubernatorial races, seven parties winning senatorial seats, eight in federal constituencies and nine in State legislatures, illustrating a broad shift in political representation across Nigeria.
He said the document has been made accessible on its website and social media platforms.
“On Thursday, 22nd February 2024, the Commission convened for its weekly meeting, where the 2023 General Election Report was reviewed and approved for publication.
It partly read: “In keeping with our tradition over the last four electoral cycles, and our commitment to transparency, we are pleased to announce the release of the official INEC report on the 2023 General Election.
“This comprehensive 526-page document, structured into 13 chapters and enhanced with 60 tables, 14 boxes and 10 graphs, offers an in-depth analysis of the election’s key processes, achievements, and challenges, alongside valuable lessons learned.
“The Report showcases the election’s unparalleled diversity in party representation, demonstrating significant democratic progress. This election saw four political parties winning gubernatorial races, seven parties winning senatorial seats, eight in federal constituencies and nine in State legislatures, illustrating a broad shift in political representation across Nigeria.
“The Report underscores the pivotal role of technological advancements, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), in enhancing electoral integrity and reducing fraud. Furthermore, it addresses public concerns about the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, explaining the technical issues encountered during the upload of polling unit results for the presidential election.”
[DailyPost]
Senator Monday Okpebholo (Edo Central) has been declared winner of Edo All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship direct primary election.
Cross River Governor Bassey Otu, who was the Chairman of Edo APC shadow poll, made the declaration after collating the results from the 18 local government areas.
The collation and declaration were at Lushville Hotel and Suites, Gapiona Avenue, Government Reservation Area (GRA), Benin.
Okpebholo polled 12,433 votes to defeat the representative of Ovia constituency in the House of Representatives, Dennis Idahosa, who scored 6,541 votes.
Details shortly…
[TheNation]
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, has appealed for the liquidation of the N42bn electricity debt of the Nigerian Army following the disconnection of various Army barracks and cantonments by power distribution companies.
Lagbaja also revealed that the blackouts in barracks had led to the decomposition of corpses in Army mortuaries, a development that had warranted protests by owners of the corpses.
The Army chief made the appeal when he visited the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, in Abuja, where the minister told him that the debt would be restructured and not written off.
Lagbaja, in a statement issued in Abuja by the media aide to the power minister, Bolaji Tunji, said the main reason for his visit was to discuss the consequences of the power outage in Army formations and the way forward.
He regretted that some barracks and cantonments had been in total blackout since January.
He was quoted as saying, “Debt owed is loaded on the meter, so no matter the amount of credit we put, the meters pick it automatically. Corpses in the Army mortuaries are decomposing and the owners of the corpses are protesting.”
According to the statement, “he (Lagbaja) further stated that the army couldn’t raise funds to pay the entire debt, as he solicited liquidation as was done in 2005 by the then President.”
He also described blackouts in army barracks and cantonments as security threats.
Meanwhile, the Army chief assured the minister of the Army’s unflinching support towards developing intelligent strategies in curbing the menace of electricity infrastructure vandalism.
Responding, Adelabu assured the Nigerian Army of his readiness to dialogue with the power distribution companies to relieve the Nigerian Army of its electricity debt burden amounting to N42bn.
He reiterated the importance of liquidity and funding in the power sector, adding that the debt could not be written off.
Adelabu told his guest that he would intervene to restructure the debt payment if there was assurance of regular payments by the Nigerian Army.
He further revealed that the debts owed by power distribution and generating companies were not the only challenges bedevilling the power sector.
According to the minister, the vandalism of power infrastructure, which often leads to national grid collapse, theft, inefficiency in billing and collection process, poor metering gap, liquidity, shortage in gas supply, transmission stations being blown up with explosives in volatile areas, were all part of the issues being experienced in the power sector.
“The fundamental issues in the power sector value chain could be traced back to the last 50 years and a government that is barely eight months old cannot use a magic wand to proffer a solution. There is a saying that you won’t know what is happening in Rome until you get to Rome,” he stated.
The minister said power outages were not peculiar to army barracks but a national issue, adding that the Discos and Gencos were profit-oriented organisations.
“We can only plead with them to adopt a repayment plan monthly instead of embedding the whole debt in their meter,” Adelabu stated.
He charged the army to continue assisting the ministry in safeguarding power facilities across the country and pledged to seek collaboration for the army through any of the development partners for the installation of solar PVs and Battery Energy Storage Systems as alternative power supply sources in army barracks and cantonments.
A lot of government agencies and parastatals owe power distribution several billions of naira in electricity debts that have continued to drag on for years.
On February 20, 2024, The PUNCH reported that no fewer than 86 ministries, agencies, and departments of government were owing the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company to the tune of N47bn.
A public notice by the management of AEDC listed the Presidential Villa as owing the Disco the sum of N923.9m; National Security Adviser, N95.9m; Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory being supervised by Nyesom Wike, N7.57bn, while Adelabu’s Ministry of Power owed N78m.
In the notice, AEDC said it would be constrained to list the names of MDAs with “long outstanding unpaid bills for services rendered to them through the provision of electricity supply in that our previous attempts to make them honour their obligations have not been achieved the desired result.”
The power firm had threatened to disconnect the MDAs in 10 days should they fail to pay their debts.
[Punch]
The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, will today commence the sale of seized bags of rice to the public at the rate of N10,000 per 25kg.
Disclosing this to newsmen in Lagos, Comptroller General of the NCS, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, said the process for the sale of the food items has been perfected such that a form with all the details of the applicant including the National Identification Number, NIN, will be submitted and a bar code will be generated for the collection of the commodity.
Adeniyi stated that ten registration points will be opened for members of the public with a view to easing the purchase process.
The Customs boss said that the moves to sell the seized items is to crash the price of food items and the shore up the value of the Naira.
He warned against the resale of purchased rice adding anybody caught reselling will be arrested and possibly prosecuted.
He explained that the disposal of these seized items will be for a period of time adding that very poor Nigerians were the target for this gesture.
He said, “In ensuring food security for Nigerians. We are here to shed light on the commitment of the NCS in protecting our society by ensuring the availability of essential food items.
“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.
“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.
“The criteria for Nigerians to benefit from this initiative include having a verifiable National
Identification Number (NIN).
“The target groups include artisans, teachers, nurses, religious bodies, and other Nigerians within our operational areas. The intention is to reach out directly to members through these organized structures to ensure the maximum impact of this exercise.
“To ensure the security and integrity of this initiative, NCS has put in place comprehensive measures. These measures encompass robust security protocols throughout the process. Our officers will be closely monitoring the entire supply chain to prevent any misuse or diversion of the food items.
“Moreover, we have established strict guidelines and eligibility criteria to ensure that the items are distributed only to those in genuine need. Additionally, we will be working closely with relevant agencies to ensure compliance with the terms of this program.
“It is imperative that beneficiaries of this exercise understand that the items are not to be resold. We take a strong stance against any form of profiteering or exploitation of this initiative. We urge Nigerians to report any incidents of misuse or unauthorized resale of the seized food items.
“NCS is fully committed to transparency and accountability in this process, and we will not hesitate to take decisive action against any individuals or entities found to be in violation of the
terms of this program.”
In a related development, the leadership of the NCS disclosed that the agency The challenge of food security have exacerbated concerns which has led to a concerning trend where food items are moving out massively to neighbouring countries.
He further disclosed that over 20,000 bags of assorted grains (Rice, beans, Maize, Guinea corn, millet, Soya beans, 2500 cartons and 963 bags of dried fish. Others include, Dried pepper, tomatoes, cooking oil, Maggi, Macaroni, salt, sugar, garri.
“This trend is not sustainable as it puts pressure on our productive capacity and threatens our food security.
“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. We will continue to advance the nation’s goals and objectives by aligning with the administration’s policies and aspirations for a prosperous Nigeria.
“NCS is dedicated to executing its duties with excellence and efficiency. Recognizing the significance of its responsibility to protect the society and facilitate trade, the NCS remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding national interests and ensuring the well-being of all Nigerians.
“Furthermore, the NCS is committed to fostering a culture of transparency, accountability, and public service. By upholding the highest standards of integrity,” he stated.
[Vanguard]