The Nigeria Customs Service has placed a complete ban on importation of all kinds of goods through Nigeria land borders.
This latest development was confirmed by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) at a press conference in Abuja on Monday.
“Goods that are on the prohibition list to Nigeria such as rice, used clothing, poultry products and vegetable oil should not be imported into the country.” Col. Hameed said.
“Let’s understand that all perishable items are on prohibition whether on export or import.
“Therefore, nobody can carry tomato to the border to import or export. So it makes it easier for us to close and ensure that all goods for now are banned from being exported or imported through our land borders.
“That is to ensure that we have total control over what comes in and what we do. We are strategising on how best the goods can be handled when we get to when this operation will relax.
“While we call on Nigerian local rice consumers to be patriotic by patronising Nigerian rice, as this will further help the country in reaching self-sufficiency in local rice production and boost our economy, we equally appeal to the business community to see the exercise as opportunity to further create a conducive environment for local businesses to thrive in the interest of national security and development.”
In August, the Nigerian government announced the partial closure of its western border with Benin to curb rice smuggling that is threatening the country’s attempt to boost local production.
Col. Hameed also lauded the partial border closure, saying it had so far curbed the smuggling of foreign rice into the country in addition to other prohibited items.
“The border closure has impacted positively on revenue generation of the government which in turn will be used to build more infrastructures and develop critical sectors of the nation’s economy.
“In addition, the National Assembly has supported the executive directive on the border closure and the efforts of security agencies in executing the task.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said he wants Nigeria to be self-sufficient in rice and has imposed import controls. He said rice smuggling across the western border threatened his policy of self-sufficiency.
However, since the closure of the borders prices of rice both local and foreign have skyrocketed.
