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Quarantine service begins clampdown on food smugglers, hoarders
By Francesca Hangeior
The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service has commenced the clamped down on hoarders and smugglers of food items and other agricultural produce, as it announced the deployment of more officers to Nigeria’s land and sea borders.
It said the move was to support the Federal Government’s efforts to stabilise food prices nationwide and ensure food security in Nigeria.
“To support the Federal Government’s efforts to stabilise food prices and ensure food security, the NAQS has initiated a nationwide crackdown on the smuggling and hoarding of agricultural commodities,” the agency announced in a statement issued in Abuja.
It added, “The decisive action is part of the agency’s mandate to regulate the handling of agricultural products in Nigeria, ensuring they are safe for consumption and available at fair prices to the Nigerian populace.
“In line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration, we are fully committed to ensuring that Nigerians have more food on their table, by strengthening our borders and clamping down on the smuggling of hoarded agricultural commodities.”
NAQS, according to its Establishment Act 2017, was established to prevent the entry, establishment and spread of foreign pests and diseases of plant, animal and aquatic resources and products into the country.
The agency is to also promote sanitary and phytosanitary measures as it relates to the import and export of agricultural products, to minimise the risk to agriculture, food safety and the environment.
The agency in its statement on Monday, noted that “Food security is a paramount concern for the Nigerian government, and we are committed to ensuring that agricultural commodities are not smuggled out of the country through our ports and land borders.
“We believe that our efforts to clamp down on smuggling practices will not only help to stabilise food prices but also promote transparency and fairness in the agricultural supply chain.”
It stated that more officers of the agency had been deployed to the borders to tackle the menace of food smuggling and hoarding.
“To combat the illegal smuggling and hoarding of agricultural commodities, NAQS is enhancing its surveillance and control measures at all entry and exit points.
“Officers of the agency are working tirelessly across the country’s borders and control posts, conducting rigorous inspections, and monitoring to ensure no agro commodity is exported.
“This initiative reflects a comprehensive approach to tackling some of the recent challenges facing the agricultural sector and aims to ensure food security and promote sustainable development.”
The agency’s acting Comptroller-General, Dr Godwin Audu, urged the public to report any suspicious activities related to the hoarding or smuggling of agricultural commodities.
He said community participation and collaboration were vital for the success of this campaign.
The Federal Government has intensified efforts to stop the hoarding and smuggling of food outside Nigeria following the recent astronomical hike in the cost of food items nationwide.
It could be recalled that the Nigeria Customs Service had declared that it intercepted 15 trailers that were fully loaded with food items and were heading out of the country through the Sokoto State border.
It said the trailers were stopped and the food items were returned to Nigeria, adding that this was part of measures to stabilise the prices of food items across the country in line with the mandate of the Federal Government.
A report by global data and business intelligence platform, StatiSense, has revealed that more than 162 million Nigerians visited porn and betting websites in June 2024.
According to the platform’s most recent data, which lists the top ten websites that Nigerians saw on their mobile devices in June, a sizable percentage of this traffic visited websites with gambling and pornographic content.
A post on StatiSense’s official X page revealed that a variety of search engines, social media apps, and betting platforms were among the most popular websites.
Notably, two pornographic websites, Xvideos and Xnxx, came in second and sixth place respectively with a total of 80.18 million visits.
In addition, Nigerian mobile users visited sporting websites 176.83 million times. Of these, 83.1 million visits were allocated to sports betting sites Sportybet and Bet9ja, which secured third and fourth places on the list.
Google and Facebook were also among the sites that featured prominently in the report.
Members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on FCT, led by Hon. Aliyu Muktar Betara have applauded the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike over ongoing infrastructural development projects across the nation’s capital city.
The lawmakers who spoke during an interactive session with the Group Managing Director of Abuja Investment Company Limited (AICL), Dr. Maureen Tamuno applauded her ingenuity towards improved revenue generation since her assumption of office.
While presenting her scorecard and strategy adopted in the turnaround of Abuja Investment Company Limited to the Committee, Dr. Tamuno disclosed that AICL only manages the district markets, not the entire markets across the territory.
According to her, Wuse Markets is owned 90 percent by the individuals who bought the shops while AICL owns 10 percent.
“For example, Wuse Market is owned 90 percent by the owners, we own 10 percent. What Abuja Management does for Wuse market is to manage the facility there through the toll taking which they do collect on our behalf and then they manage the facilities, they manage the refuse collections and they also work with the market association.”
Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on Friday said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is serious in solving the economic crisis in the country.
Wike gave the assurance during the inspection of the ongoing construction of the 7.3 kilometers Gaba/Tokulo road in Bwari Area Council.
He pleaded with Abuja residents to give the present administration the needed support to deliver the dividends of democracy.
Addressing reporters during the inspection visit, the FCT Minister expressed satisfaction with the speed and quality of work on the road project and assured that it will be adequately funded to ensure its timely completion by December this year.
The Minister who revealed that the project was 40 percent complete, said about 70 percent of the contractual sum has been paid to the contractor by the FCT Administration and expressed confidence in the capacity of the contractor to deliver the project within the agreed schedule.
Wike further disclosed that the Gaba/Tokulo road, when completed, will not only enhance transportation in the rural parts of the FCT, but will also improve food security in the nation’s capital by providing access to the farmlands, as well as access to the markets.
He also stressed the commitment of the FCT Administration to providing infrastructure in the FCT Area Councils, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Wike said: “So many people have thought that we are only concentrating in the city. Yesterday, we were in Saburi, today we are in Bwari. Tomorrow, we will be in Kuje, so that people will understand that while we are doing in the city, we are also carrying out development in the satellite towns and the rural areas because by the Renewed Hope Agenda, development is not only to be concentrated within the city but also to take to the rural areas in order to improve the economy.
“Here is an agrarian area; without this road, how are they going to move their goods? And this is part of the problems we have in terms of food insecurity. People are talking about shortages of food, but if we don’t have means of transportation, that is also a problem.
“We are trying to solve that problem of transportation for farmers to be able to go and bring whatever they have produced for people to consume or to buy”.
Wike, while thanking the people of Bwari for their support for the government, also reiterated that President Tinubu was committed to addressing the economic problems of the country and called for their continued support.
He said: “We thank the people of Bwari and we want to also let them know that the government of President Tinubu is serious about solving the economic crisis we have. All we urge Nigerians is just to be patient.
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