Confusion has gripped both the public and stakeholders as Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu issued a directive instructing the Nigerian Customs Service to return all seized grains to their rightful owners for retailing in the Nigerian markets.
The announcement came during a stakeholder meeting at Kwangwalam, a border town in the Maiadua Local Government Area of Katsina State, where the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, revealed the unexpected decision.
Tinubu‘s directive aims to ensure ample food supply at affordable prices for Nigerians, addressing concerns related to rising food prices. However, the returned confiscated food items are to be exclusively sold within the Nigerian markets.
CGC Adeniyi explained, “The whole idea is to promote food security and ensure that Nigerians will not be living with hunger and Tinubu considers this as one of the strategies that can help address the problem of food security.
READ ALSO: ‘Things Falling Apart Under Your Leadership’, Northern Senators’ Chair Criticizes Tinubu
“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,” he added.
In addition to the directive, the CGC’s visited former President Muhammadu Buhari in 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.
