President Muhammadu Buhari has been praised for approving the recommendation of the Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), to lift the ban on rice importation through land borders.
According to stakeholders in the maritime sector, the Federal Government loses over N20 billion yearly for putting rice on the import restriction list.
This is because no fewer than 10,000 bags of rice were smuggled into the country daily from Benin Republic and other neighbouring countries before the ban was lifted.
Customs Public Relations Officer Mr Wale Adeniyi, last week, in a statement, announced the lfiting of the ban.
The action of the government was lauded by officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Customs officers, importers, traders and others.
A senior official of the Federal Ministry of Finance, who craved anonymity, said the N20 billion yearly loss was not part of the duty owed the government by rice importers who exceded the import quotas given to them. Some importers also enjoyed ‘questionable waivers’ too.
The administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, had through the Ministry of Agriculture, approved import waivers for rice importers.
In spite this largesse, all entreaties, notifications and notices given to the importers by the Customs, many of them still defaulted paying Customs duty and other charges on the excess imported rice.
A few months ago, offcials of the NCS sealed warehouses of major rice importers for failing to pay debts valued at N23,603,479,402.44
The affected importers are: Olam, Stallion/Popular Foods/Masco Agro, Ebony Agro and Conti-Agro (Milan).
Allowing the issue to degenerate to the level of closing down their warehouses was one of the reasons the government reviewed the ban.
ANLCA President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, commended President Buhari and the Col. Ali for reversing the obnoxious policy of the last administration.
He argued that the ban on rice importation through land borders had led to upsurge in the smuggling of the essential commodity and threw up some emergency millionaires.
He said over 10,000 bags of rice are smuggled in daily.
In 2011, Shittu said, 2.9 million tonnes of rice were imported, not 342,000 tonnes, as claimed by some top officials of the last administration.
He called on the National Assembly to support the Federal Government with a legislation that would promote agric production.
Shittu urged the Federal Government and the NCS to put in place an effective sanction for rice smuggler.
He identified low tariff on rice in neighbouring countries as one of the major factors contributing to smuggling of rice, urging the government to look into the 60 per cent levy imposed by the last administration.
An importer at Alaba Rago Market,Mallam Audu Bello, howver, said the decision to ban rice importation was not well thought-out.
“Rice is important in Nigeria. This is because it is a staple food of most homes,” he said.
According to government statistics, yearly consumption of rice is about 5.5million tonnes. It is also a fact that local production accounts for about 1.8million tonnes. Analysts say the question is how to bridge the gap.
“The fact is that over two million metric tonnes are smuggled into the country and the country loses huge revenue through it,” he added.
Also, the President, Shippers’ Association Lagos State, Rev. Jonathan Nicol, lauded the lifting of the ban. He described the action as the ‘most sensible’.
According to him, rice is the staple food of many Nigerians. “When Nigeria is ripe to produce enough rice, Nigerians will be glad to adjust and consume local produce,” he said.
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